![\"Farkhunda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Razan-Alzayani-2.jpg.webp.webp\"\/)
<\/p>\nBy Zeba Tasci in Ottawa, Canada<\/p>\n
Her family\u2019s journey from Afghanistan to Canada was marked by uncertainty and sacrifice. What began as a temporary displacement eventually became permanent uprooting. Yet, reflecting on that experience, she says, \u201cComing to Canada was the best decision they could have made.\u201d<\/p>\n
When she was two years old, her parents made a life-altering decision. Fleeing conflict in the 1990s, they eventually settled in Canada. It wasn\u2019t the life they had planned, but it was the future they needed.<\/p>\n
As a child, Farkhunda didn\u2019t fully grasp the depth of her family\u2019s journey. Raised in Canada by Afghan parents who had fled war, she grew up with stories of sacrifice, resilience, and hope. Today, she is an educator, athlete, and community builder; a proud Canadian with deep Afghan roots. Her story reflects the dual identity experienced by many children of refugees: navigating new beginnings while honoring a homeland still in turmoil.<\/p>\n
A holistic upbringing<\/p>\n
Growing up in a tightly-knit Afghan-Canadian household in Scarborough, the east end of Toronto, Ontario, Farkhunda\u2019s early life was marked not by material wealth, but by values of generosity, faith, and cultural pride.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiving was just what you did. It\u2019s part of Afghan culture. You support your neighbor, your community,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n
She grew up moving between worlds: public school during the day, mosque classes during the week and Persian school on weekends. From the age of four, she was already playing competitive soccer, discovering early that sport could be a powerful way to grow, connect, and lead.<\/p>\n
A shifting worldview<\/p>\n
Even as a child, Farkhunda noticed how Afghanistan was portrayed in the media: war, poverty, and displacement dominated the headlines. Watching the news with her father sparked an early awareness.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never saw anything positive about Afghanistan. But instead of leaving me hopeless, it gave me purpose. If these are human made problems, then we can also be part of the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Farkhunda<\/p>\n
Initially, she imagined giving back as a teacher or doctor. But while studying kinesiology and health sciences at York University, a new path emerged\u2014one that would merge her academic background with her passion for sport.<\/p>\n
Farkhunda had continued playing soccer competitively into her University days. Identified by the Afghan National Program in 2016, Farkhunda was asked to participate in a talent identification camp in May. With the hopes of representing her country, she flew to California to participate, where she was eventually selected to join the team.<\/p>\n
Joining the Afghanistan Women\u2019s National Football Team opened her eyes to the stark inequalities faced by women back home. While half the team lived in the diaspora, others remained in Afghanistan, where access to basic resources and freedoms was limited.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were all Afghan, but our experiences were completely different. The lack of safety and opportunity was eye-opening,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n
Captain and catalyst: leading on and off the field<\/p>\n
By late 2018 Farkhunda had become captain of the national team, a position that required far more than on-field leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cWearing the captain\u2019s armband wasn\u2019t just about leading warmups or motivating the team,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was about being a bridge. I felt a deep responsibility to represent and protect the voices of my teammates, especially those still living in Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team rarely trained in Afghanistan due to security threats. Instead, training camps were held abroad, where the players\u2014many of whom had never met in person\u2014could finally play as one.<\/p>\n
In August 2021, the Taliban seized Kabul and began targeting female athletes. The Afghanistan Football Federation reached out to Farkhunda to help organize the evacuation of the youth women\u2019s national team. She was captain of the senior women\u2019s team, an Afghan-Canadian based abroad, and already deeply connected to Afghan football and advocacy, she was uniquely positioned to support these efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome girls were in hiding, scared of what people might do. Others didn\u2019t have passports yet. We were working against the clock and against our own fears of what could happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Farkhunda<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Farkhunda Muhtaj with members of the Afghan Women\u2019s Team. \u00a9 Razan Alzayani<\/p>\n
Without hesitation and operating on minimal sleep, she joined players\u2019 WhatsApp groups, coordinated information gathering and logistics, liaised with humanitarian lawyers, government contacts, NGOs and former intelligence officers to help guide dozens of players and their families to safety. Each successful extraction felt like a miracle.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the most emotionally intense time of my life,\u201d she says. \u201cEvery message I got, \u2018We made it\u2019, was a wave of relief. But we knew others were still out there, still waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though she wasn\u2019t on the ground, her leadership proved vital. For many, she was the only link to hope.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to let the world forget them. These girls weren\u2019t just athletes, they were symbols of resistance. And I owed it to them to fight as hard as I could.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thanks in part to her efforts, over 300 Afghans, including members of the Afghanistan Youth National Team, were evacuated after the Taliban\u2019s return to power. Many evacuated players have since resettled in countries like Portugal and Germany, where they\u2019re continuing their education and playing careers. Farkhunda remains in close contact with them, mentoring and advocating as they rebuild their lives.<\/p>\n
Using sport as a force for change<\/p>\n
As she was working to help evacuative women from Afghanistan, in Canada she was also navigating life as a university student, varsity athlete, and professional soccer player. Throughout all this, Farkhunda was also building something bigger: a way to give back locally.<\/p>\n
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she noticed a gap: children from underserved communities were missing out on accessible sports opportunities. Drawing on her own upbringing in Scarborough, she co-founded the Scarborough Simbas, a free, grassroots program for kids aged 5 to 12.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2018s not just about soccer. It\u2018s about giving young people a space where they feel seen, valued, and supported.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Farkhunda<\/p>\n
Every Saturday, children arrived to community check-ins, sports kits, and shared meals with their families. The environment was inclusive, joyful, and healing. Even after moving overseas to pursue professional football, Farkhunda ensured the program continued with a dedicated team of elite-level coaches.<\/p>\n
She wanted the children to have access to the best coaching talent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was important for us to have coaches who had played the sport at the highest levels,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not like, \u2018you\u2019re a refugee or newcomer, so let\u2019s give you the bare minimum.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Farkhunda explained that they brought in varsity, semi-professional, and professional athletes, not just to share their expertise, but to serve as role models.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt mattered that they had high-level playing experience, but also that they genuinely connected with the kids and their families.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u2013 Farkhunda<\/p>\n
Today, the Simbas have grown to include seasonal programming, academic support, and partnerships with clubs that offer talented youth a pathway to competitive sport. While funding remains a challenge, the mission remains strong: to give every child the chance to feel seen, safe, and supported, both on and off the field.<\/p>\n
Giving back and looking ahead<\/p>\n
For Farkhunda, giving back isn\u2019t a choice: it\u2019s a calling rooted in culture, shaped by experience, and guided by a deep sense of justice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always knew I wanted to give back to Afghanistan and to communities like mine,\u201d she says. \u201cAt first, I thought I\u2019d do it by becoming a teacher or a doctor. But now I realize there are so many ways to make a difference.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u2013 Farkhunda<\/p>\n
![\"Farkhunda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Copy-of-IMG_1260-3-scaled.jpg.webp.webp\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Farkhunda Muhtaj continues to represent both Canada and Afghanistan with pride, purpose, and unwavering resolve. \u00a9 Farkhunda Muhtaj<\/p>\n
Whether through sport diplomacy, youth mentorship, or humanitarian work, she continues to live the dream her parents had when they fled Afghanistan: to build a better, more hopeful future. Now playing for Calgary Wild FC in the Norther Super League, she continues to represent both Canada and Afghanistan with pride, purpose and unwavering resolve.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still think about those nights watching the news with my dad,\u201d she says. \u201cI think about the stories we didn\u2019t see, the strength and brilliance of our people. That\u2019s the Afghanistan I want to share with the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Zeba Tasci in Ottawa, Canada Her family\u2019s journey from Afghanistan to Canada was marked by uncertainty and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30059,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-30058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}