Afghanistan’s refugee women’s team has been granted the right to participate in international competitions, five years after the national team’s players fled their country’s Taliban regime.
The Fifa Council agreed on Tuesday in Vancouver to amend the federation’s rules to allow the participation of Afghanistan Women United in official Fifa competitions without the permission of the Islamic group Taliban.
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have issued more than 70 decrees restricting the rights of girls and women.
The women’s national team has not played an official competitive international match since then, amid a ban on women’s sports.
Fifa regulations previously required the women’s team to receive recognition from the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) in order to compete.
“We are proud of the good journey started by Afghan Women United, and with this program we aim to enable them, as well as other Fifa member associations that may not be able to register a national team or a representative of the Fifa competition, to take the next step, in coordination with the relevant federation,” Gianni Infantino, president of Fifa, said.
