Afghan Women's Football Team Reunites in New Zealand After FIFA Ruling

The changing room buzzes with activity as footballers go through their pre-match routines. Some stretch and tighten their boots, others embrace. Midfielder Fatima Haidari addresses her teammates: "Be strong as always because we are representing Afghan women." Applause erupts in the room where an Afghan flag hangs and a patriotic song plays. As the women sing along, some struggle to hold back tears. A final team huddle with words of encouragement from their coach precedes their walk onto the pitch—a place they were once told they did not belong.

The 23-player squad, selected from Afghan players now living abroad, has traveled to New Zealand for a training camp and two unofficial friendly matches against the Cook Islands. This marks the first time they have gathered as a team since FIFA ruled in April that they could represent their country in official matches in the future. Previously, they would have needed approval from the Afghanistan Football Federation—an impossibility under the Taliban, who returned to power in August 2021 and imposed wide-ranging restrictions on women and girls, including barring them from secondary school, university, most professions, and organized sport.

A Team in Exile

The national women's team, formed in 2007, could no longer play after the Taliban takeover. Its members were among those evacuated and resettled in countries including Australia, the UK, and Portugal. Years of campaigning led to the creation of a refugee team, which became Afghan Women United. Thanks to FIFA's ruling, the team can now attempt to qualify for international competitions such as the Olympics and the World Cup.

Gathered in New Zealand, the squad is excited to be playing together. As asylum seekers living in various countries, they have struggled to obtain travel documents to train as a team over the past five years.

Personal Stories of Struggle

Sitting in a hotel in Auckland the day before the match, Manozh Noori, 23, wears a T-shirt and knee-length shorts—a look she says has often drawn criticism from relatives for appearing too masculine. As she speaks to BBC Global Women about her family, her voice falters. She pauses, takes a deep breath, and looks away for a moment before continuing. There are no tears, but the emotion is clear.

Noori now lives in Australia but grew up playing football with boys in the streets of Kabul. After seeing women's football on television, she secretly joined local clubs and gradually rose through the ranks in Afghanistan. She knew her older brother would disapprove, so she tried to reduce the risk of being recognized by wearing a face covering. Over six years, she won league titles, national championships, and individual awards. Eventually, her success became impossible to hide.

In about 2018, her fellow players persuaded her to remove her face covering for a TV interview, which was shown on the news along with highlights of their match. Then she had to face the reality that her brother might see it. "I was so scared," she recalls. "I kept thinking, 'He's going to see me. He's going to know.'" In desperation, she tried to stop her family from watching the news by turning off the electricity, but word soon reached her brother, and he was furious, she says. "He was screaming," Noori says. "'You told us you were studying. You said you wanted to become a teacher or a doctor. What is this?'" He threatened to cut ties with the family if she didn't stop, she adds. "My mother was crying. She told me, 'He's the person who supports us financially. How are we going to survive?'" Noori did stop playing for a while but eventually started again. She says her other brother, who lives in Germany, sent money to help finance her dream.