More than seven years since an Afghan women’s team last played a competitive international, FIFA has cleared the way back. For players scattered across four continents by a regime that criminalized their sport, the green light carries a weight no fixture list can capture.

The FIFA Council, meeting in Vancouver on Tuesday, amended its governance regulations to allow the registration of national teams “under exceptional circumstances” — language written with Afghanistan explicitly in mind. The Taliban’s 2021 return to power banned women from sport and drove dozens of footballers into exile. More than 80 now live in Australia, Europe, the US, and the Middle East.

Former captain Khalida Popal, who led years of lobbying for the team’s reinstatement, told Reuters the players have “always been known as an activist team.” Now they want to develop diaspora talent — while amplifying the voices of women still inside Afghanistan. “If we can still be the voice for them to send out hope messages and show them our support that you are not forgotten, then we will continue to use our platform,” Popal said.

The squad, Afghan Women United, formed as a FIFA-sanctioned refugee team in May 2025. They played three matches last year, notching a first win against Libya in November. A training camp opens in New Zealand on 1 June, with a fixture against the Cook Islands.

Afghanistan will not be eligible for 2027 Women’s World Cup qualifying but could compete for a place at the 2028 Olympics. FIFA has pledged full financial and operational support for up to two years.

Nadia Nadim, born in Afghanistan and a Denmark international with over 100 caps, called the decision a recognition of Afghan women “not as victims of circumstance, but as elite players with the right to compete, be seen and be respected.”

The contrast needs no editorial gloss. A government that denies women the right to appear in public. A sport insisting they take the field.

Sources