FIFA Camp Symbol Of Afghan Women's Resistance, Fight For Football Recognition

Last Updated:August 30, 2025, 16:46 IST

FIFA's ID camp at St George's Park unites Afghanistan refugee women footballers like Elaha Safdari and Najma Arefi, symbolizing resistance and hope for international recognition.

Afghanistan women football team players. (PC: AFP, representative)

FIFA’s global ID camp for the Afghanistan refugee team at St George’s Park in England has been an emotional one for the participants. It has not only been a chance to reconnect with teammates who share a love for the game but also a declaration of resistance.

This camp, the last of three led by coach Pauline Hamill, was part of FIFA’s efforts to build a 23-player squad for international friendly tournaments. The weight is in the stories, however.

Four years before the camp, Elaha Safdari, 17 at the time, got her first call-up as a goalkeeper for Afghanistan’s women’s football team, but had to flee Kabul due to the Taliban takeover. Safdari was asked to destroy her kit and trophies and delete her social media profiles.

“Because it might put you at a high risk (with) the Taliban, because in Afghanistan, women cannot play football," Safdari told Reuters, holding back tears.

Unlike Afghanistan’s men’s team, who continue to play under the national banner, the Taliban-controlled Afghan Football Federation has banned women’s football. The same story is true for other sports, like the more popular cricket, too.

While FIFA President Gianni Infantino called the initiative an “important step in the right direction," Safdari stated that Afghan women will continue to fight for full international status.

“I was so close to my dream, and the Taliban took my dream away," Safdari said. “It’s a wonderful step from FIFA that they are organising these tournaments, but our aim is bigger. We are asking FIFA to allow us to be recognised and play on the international stage and represent our country in exile."

The players know that their job isn’t done here and football is much more than a sport for them.

“We want to use football as a powerful platform to represent the girls in Afghanistan, that we are not forgetting them," said defender Najma Arefi, who was 18 when she fled Kabul.

“A dog on the street has more rights than a woman in Afghanistan. It makes me so emotional to talk about (female friends and family still there), the fact that they lost their dreams, they lost everything. We want to show the world that even if you’re closing your eyes, we’re still here. We’re still going to speak about them. We are not afraid," she added.

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First Published:

August 30, 2025, 16:46 IST

News sports FIFA Camp Symbol Of Afghan Women's Resistance, Fight For Football Recognition

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