Afghan Women United came back together in New Zealand, where the Afghan women’s team recognized by Fifa trained, played, and reclaimed a place on the pitch that has been denied to them at home. The 23-player squad, made up of Afghan footballers now living abroad, gathered in Auckland for a training camp and two unofficial friendly matches against the Cook Islands.
The reunion marked the first time the players had been together since Fifa ruled in April that they could represent Afghanistan in official matches in the future. Before that decision, any such step would have required approval from the Afghanistan Football Federation. Under Taliban rule, that was not possible. The Taliban, which returned to power in August 2021, imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls, including bans on secondary school, university, most jobs, and organized sport.
The women’s national team was formed in 2007, but after the Taliban takeover, the players were forced out of the country or resettled abroad in places including Australia, the UK, and Portugal. Years of campaigning eventually helped create a refugee side that became Afghan Women United. With Fifa’s recognition, the team can now work toward qualification for major competitions such as the Olympics and the World Cup.
For the players, the trip to New Zealand was about more than fixtures. Many have spent years as asylum seekers in different countries, making it difficult to secure the travel documents needed to train together. In Auckland, they described football as a source of independence and a lifeline through a period of upheaval that scattered families and separated teammates.
One of the players, Manozh Noori, now lives in Australia and said she grew up playing football with boys in the streets of Kabul. After seeing women’s football on television, she joined local clubs in secret and rose through the ranks, using a face covering to avoid being recognized by relatives who disapproved. She later won league titles, national championships, and individual awards, but the pressure from home intensified once her success became public.
