FIFA Approves Rule for Exiled Afghan Women's Football Team

FIFA has approved a rule change allowing exiled Afghan women footballers, competing as Afghan Women United, to participate in official international competitions without needing approval from the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan Football Federation.

The FIFA Council made the decision during a meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday. The amendment enables the refugee team, formed after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, to represent Afghanistan in sanctioned matches. Since then, Taliban authorities have enacted restrictions on women and girls, including bans on sports, which halted the women's national team after its last competitive international in 2018. Many players fled the country fearing persecution, with FIFA assisting in the evacuation of more than 160 at-risk athletes, officials and human rights defenders from football and basketball in 2021.

The change builds on FIFA's Strategy for Action for Afghan Women's Football, endorsed by the FIFA Council in May 2023. It follows the creation of Afghan Women United, a FIFA-supported squad providing playing opportunities for refugees scattered across Australia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States....