Afghan Women's Refugee Team allowed to play in FIFA competitions
Football governing body FIFA on Tuesday announced that the Afghan Women's Refugee Team will be allowed to participate in official competitions. The FIFA Council agreed to amend the federation's rules to allow for the participation of the team in official FIFA competitions without the approval of the Islamist Taliban. Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have issued more than 70 decrees restricting girls' and women's rights.
The women's national team has not played an official competitive international since then, amid a ban on women's sports. FIFA regulations had previously required the women's team to receive recognition from the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan Football Federation in order to compete. The Afghan Women's Refugee Team, also known as Afghan Women United, was brought together following talent identification camps across England and Australia and debuted against Morocco in October in the FIFA Unites – Women’s Series 2025.
The team is coached by former Scotland player Pauline Hamill. "We are proud of the beautiful journey initiated by Afghan Women United, and with this initiative we aim to enable them, as well as other FIFA Member Associations that may not be able to register a national or representative team for a FIFA competition, to make the next step, in coordination with the relevant confederation," FIFA president Gianni Infantino said.