WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) 鈥� Fatima Yousufi escaped the Taliban, arriving in Australia with a backpack and a burning ambition to play international soccer.
Through their own determination and courage, and with family support, Yousufi and others like Mona Amini had been able to study, to play soccer for clubs and for the Afghanistan women鈥檚 team. But when the Taliban returned to power in 2021 it shut down all women鈥檚 sports, and the players of the Afghan team went into hiding.
, 13 of the players settled in Australia where for five years they lived, played and trained in the hope of once again being allowed to represent their country.
The Afghanistan soccer federation doesn鈥檛 recognize the women鈥檚 team. But in April, soccer鈥檚 world governing body .
This week, 23 members of the Afghan Women United program are in a training camp in Auckland, New Zealand and will play games against a team from the Cook Islands.
鈥淚t was a special day that we heard that Afghanistan can represent again our flag in international tournaments,” Amini, a midfielder, told The Associated Press in a Zoom call Tuesday. 鈥淭his is the result of hard work that we did in the past four or five years.鈥�
Seven months ago, the in which they achieved a win over Libya.
鈥淚t was a very special moment because we played in an international friendly tournament, and after three years we heard our anthem,鈥� Amini said. 鈥淭hat was amazing for me.鈥�
A better future
FIFA鈥檚 subsequent recognition was another important milestone on a long and perilous journey.
Yousufi, a Melbourne-based goalkeeper, remembers her reaction vividly.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have the national team! That鈥檚 the greatest thing ever that could have happened to the team,” she said. 鈥淚t was super important to us, especially thinking of the time when we arrived in Australia and we had lost everything: family, our childhood memories and that national team.鈥�
Yousufi said she left home with one backpack, 鈥渢o be safe and to continue to be alive.鈥�
鈥淲hen we came here the most important part of our life was to be a soccer player and to be a soccer team,鈥� she said. “When we we saw we could not be (officially) a national team and we could not represent our country … it was like I lost the game.鈥�
While , there are Afghan players spread across Europe and some in the United States. Coach Pauline Hamill holds talent identification camps and helps pull the squad together for games.
Memories of their darkest days remain a strong part of the team鈥檚 motivation to succeed, and to represent women and girls still in their homeland. The Afghan women鈥檚 team played its last official competitive match in 2018.
鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 play freely in Afghanistan,” Amini said. 鈥淕oing out from home was tough because there was the risk of the Taliban seeing us and finding that we were playing soccer. “It was a very tough time and I鈥檓 pretty sure every one of the girls, every single one of us, fought hard to create this team and we are very happy right now to stay with each other.鈥�
A student and an athlete
Yousufi was a student and a soccer player, and she said it was difficult even before the Taliban returned to power 鈥渇or a girl to play football in Afghanistan with such difficulties as family barriers and difficulties of the society to accept a woman in sport.鈥�
鈥淲e were thinking of any other outcomes like the danger we were facing, everyday dangers in Afghanistan like bomb explosions. Considering all those things 鈥� and it was the same for the other girls 鈥� we took all those risks to be part of the national team and to be a football player.鈥�
Then life became even more difficult.
鈥淭he only thing humans want is freedom, and the Taliban took our freedom,鈥� Amini said. 鈥淚t is really difficult that you cannot educate, you cannot play sport, you cannot go outside or you cannot do what you love … (or) follow your dreams.鈥�
Role models
Amini said the refugee players now were determined to represent all women and girls in Afghanistan.
鈥淲e are here and we are going to be trying our best to do something for them, to be the voice of them so that we could have a new generation for the future for the Afghanistan women鈥檚 national team,鈥� she said.
Yousufi said she was among a group of players 鈥渁dopted by the Australian government,鈥� and 鈥渨e鈥檙e now living our life and continuing our journey with football, with our education and also being a voice for all those girls who are in Afghanistan.鈥�
鈥淥ur team might be the one to change the way the people think and also the way that things are happening towards the girls and women in Afghanistan,” she said. 鈥淲e’re all trying our best show that women and girls can be part of the society and can be someone who is in education or in sport, that women also have the right to do that.鈥�
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