The Afghan women’s squad arrives in Auckland
After the Taliban reinstated bans on women’s football, 23 former Afghan players living abroad were denied permission to train as a national team. FIFA changed course in April 2024, recognising Afghan Women United and allowing them to compete officially. The squad, now in New Zealand, assembled for a week‑long camp and played two friendlies against the Cook Islands.
The team’s journey up a seven‑hour flight from Kabul to Auckland felt like a pilgrimage. Fatima Haidari, a midfielder, rallied teammates before the first match: “Be strong as always because we represent Afghan women.” The atmosphere in the locker room—reds, flags and a patriotic tune—trembled with both triumph and emotion.
Under the Taliban, women were barred from secondary learning, employment and organised sports. Afghan Women United was forged from a refugee squad, the product of years of campaigning by players like Manozh Noori (image: 
), who once buried medals in a Kabul garden before fleeing, believing sport would secure a safer life for her family.
Mursal Sadat, a former coach now living in Australia, recalled her youth: “If I wasn’t a footballer, I would still be in Afghanistan—a woman who can’t study or speak up. Football kept us alive.” Arefi, now in the UK, tells of hot training sessions that broke cultural barriers and earned them local support reflected on billboards in Herat.
The side lost both matches 1‑0 and 3‑0 against the Cook Islands, yet the scores mean little. For the players, the matches are proof that exile will not extinguish Afghan women’s ambition. They have endured travel‑document chaos, family separation and the loss of homes, but have finally stepped onto the pitch again.
The outcome also spotlights the role of sport diplomacy. The Taliban’s sports director declined to comment, but urged FIFA to return to Afghanistan when women’s play is permitted. Meanwhile, Afghan women have gained a historic approval to compete, a symbol of pride unrivalled by any match result.
The journey from a banned sport at home to a field in New Zealand illustrates resilience, a hunger for recognition and the transformative power of football for women denied freedoms worldwide. Their story underscores a broader struggle for women’s rights, echoing beyond the field into the global conversation about climate‑related displacement, justice and solidarity.
