Football exiles continue call for Fifa recognition

The Girl Power UK team at the U-Mix Centre in November 2023

A group of footballers who fled Afghanistan when the Taliban returned to power are to take part in a match calling on Fifa to recognise their country's women's team.

Thousands of people, including players from the Afghanistan Women's Football Team, left the country when the Taliban took over on 15 August 2021.

On Friday, members of the team's development squad - known as Girl Power - will feature alongside representatives of Football Unites, Racism Divides as part of efforts to get world football's governing body to allow the team to compete internationally.

Fifa said it had no right to officially recognise any team unless it was first recognised by the concerned member association.

The event, which will mark Refugee Week, is being held at the U-Mix Centre in Asline Road in Sheffield.

Among the players is Narges Mayeli, the director of Girl Power who used to play for the Afghan Women's Youth Team before fleeing to South Yorkshire.

She said leaving her country had been "very difficult".

Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield's Sport Heaven, she said: "Afghanistan is a country of restrictions for women and girls who [are] trying to open that path for other women and girls, who dreamed of playing a sport, who dreamed of studying, of being someone in the future.

"It is really difficult still, even if I'm living here, but I've got the chance to chase my dreams, I've got the chance to raise my voice for other people."

Ruth Jones, from Football Unites, Racism Divides, said she hoped Friday's match would help change the narrative on refugees.

She said: "People can learn a lot about the plight of refugees just by listening to some of them talk.

"It's portrayed often in the media as a big problem, but how people view the issue, can change quite a lot just by meeting people who've been through the extraordinary journeys that all refugees and asylum seekers have been on."

As part of the campaign, they are calling on Fifa to allow the Afghanistan Women's Football Team to compete in matches, such as the upcoming qualifiers for the AFC Women's Asian Cup in 2026.

The team from Football Unites, Racism Divides

Fifa said it could not recognise the team until it was recognised by the Afghan Football Federation, but was closely monitoring the situation of the country's football community.

A spokesperson said: "Fifa believes that dialogue through the member association in Afghanistan is the best way to advance women’s football and the interest of women there, and we are in regular dialogue with them on this matter.

"The selection of players and teams representing a member association is considered as an internal affair of the member association."

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