FIFA Grants Afghan Women's Refugee Team Eligibility for International Competitions

An Afghanistan women's refugee team has been granted eligibility for international competitions, some five years after national team players fled their country's Taliban rule. The FIFA Council agreed on Tuesday in Vancouver to amend the federation's rules to allow for the participation of Afghan Women United 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 (AFF) to compete. "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," Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, said.