Afghanistan women's national football team

The Afghanistan women's national football team (Dari: تیم ملی فوتبال زنان افغانستان) was the women's national team of Afghanistan until the fall of Kabul in August 2021. They played under the authority of the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF).

History

Early history

The team was formed in 2007 by the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee with players drawn from among selected school girls in Kabul.

In an attempt to improve the quality of women's football, the team was sent to Germany in 2008 to hold a preparation camp. Later in the year, the Afghan team traveled to Jordan to participate in the Islamic Countries Women's Football Tournament.

In May 2010, Danish sports brand Hummel International sponsored male, female and youth teams of Afghanistan.

The 2010 SAFF Women's Championship in Bangladesh marked the first appearance of Afghanistan in a major international tournament. In it, they played their first official game, against Nepal, where they were defeated by an overwhelming 13–0 scoreline.

2016 marked a big year for the Afghanistan Women's National Team as they received support from the Afghanistan Football Federation and hired new coaching staff, comprising head coach Kelly Lindsey, assistant coach Haley Carter, and program director Khalida Popal.

In November 2018, male staff of the Afghanistan Football Federation were accused of sexual and physical abuse of Afghanistan women's players. The alleged abusers included the federation's president, Keramuudin Karim.

2021 exodus

In August 2021, following the second takeover of the country by the Taliban, former team captain Khalida Popal who was based in Denmark, urged players to delete their social media accounts, erase public identities and burn their kits for safety's sake as they are again under Taliban rule. On 25 August, the Australian government announced they had evacuated 75 Afghan women athletes including football players. FIFPro and Popal worked with authorities in six countries, including Australia, the US, and the UK, to get athletes and their families airlifted out of Afghanistan. FIFPro general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann described the evacuations as "an incredibly complex process".

The national team also withdrew from the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers.

In March 2022, the national team was admitted into Football Victoria's state league: they were placed in State League 4 West, the seventh tier of Australian women's football and sixth in the Victorian structure, as Melbourne Victory FC AWT. They were promoted after both the 2022 and 2023 seasons and are playing in State League 2 for 2024.

In May 2022, the team's development side which were relocated to the UK following the fall of Kabul played a friendly against non-FIFA team Surrey in Dorking.

Afghanistan was included in the draw in January 2023 for the 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The AFF released a statement inviting players based outside the country to play for the women's national team. However, Afghanistan would be withdrawn by the AFC. The statement, which was by an individual based in Albania who was still accredited as the media director of the AFF, was taken down by the federation. The AFF released another statement that it would not allow any players based abroad to represent the country or intend to organize a women's national team at all due to the laws of the Taliban.

As of March 2024, it is unclear if, or when, FIFA would allow the team to play official international matches again.

Results

Coaching staff

Manager history

Head-to-head record

As of 27 March 2024:

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Olympic Games

AFC Women's Asian Cup

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

CAFA Women's Championship

SAFF Women's Championship (2010–2016)

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

See also

• Sport in Afghanistan
  • Football in Afghanistan
    • Women's football in Afghanistan
• Afghanistan men's national football team

References

External links

• اردوی تیم ملی فوتبال زنان افغانستان در آلمان
• Afghanistan women's football team picture