Fifa has given permission for Afghan Women United, a squad composed of refugees scattered around the world in Australia, the Middle East and Europe, to represent Afghanistan in official competitions without requiring the approval of the Taliban.
In a significant regulation change to be approved by the Fifa Council today, Afghan Women will be permitted to compete as the official Afghanistan national team for the first time, against the wishes of the country’s government.
Under the previous regulations Fifa required the team to receive recognition from the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan Football Federation, which will not recognize a women’s football team due to the Taliban’s ban on women’s sports.
For more than three years, the Afghan Women players and their supporters have campaigned for Fifa to intervene and provide them with the official recognition and financial support denied to them by Afghanistan.
Afghan Women was formed after the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and the official women’s national team, which had been set up in 2007, was banned with most of their players seeking asylum.