Afghanistan women's national football team explained

Afghanistan
Badge:Afghanistan Football Federation logo.png
Fifa Trigramme:AFG
Fifa Max:106
Fifa Max Date:December 2017 – March 2018
Fifa Min:160
Fifa Min Date:December 2021
Nickname:The Lions of Afghanistan
(شیران افغانستان)
Confederation:AFC (Asia)
Sub-Confederation:CAFF (Central Asia)
Top Scorer:Marjan Haydaree (5)
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First Game: 13–0
(Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh; 14 December 2010)[1]
Last Game: 0–5
(Tashkent, Uzbekistan; 27 November 2018)
Largest Win: 0–4
(Colombo, Sri Lanka; 10 September 2012)
Largest Loss: 20–0
(Tashkent, Uzbekistan; 23 November 2018)
Regional Name:AFC Women's Asian Cup
Type:women

The Afghanistan women's national football team (Dari: تیم ملی فوتبال زنان افغانستان) was the women's national team of Afghanistan until the fall of Kabul in August 2021. They played under the authority of the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF).

History

Early history

The team was formed in 2007 by the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee with players drawn from among selected school girls in Kabul.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

In an attempt to improve the quality of women's football, the team was sent to Germany in 2008 to hold a preparation camp. Later in the year, the Afghan team traveled to Jordan to participate in the Islamic Countries Women's Football Tournament.[8]

In May 2010, Danish sports brand Hummel International sponsored male, female and youth teams of Afghanistan.[9]

The 2010 SAFF Women's Championship in Bangladesh marked the first appearance of Afghanistan in a major international tournament. In it, they played their first official game, against Nepal, where they were defeated by an overwhelming 13–0 scoreline.[10]

2016 marked a big year for the Afghanistan Women's National Team as they received support from the Afghanistan Football Federation and hired new coaching staff, comprising head coach Kelly Lindsey, assistant coach Haley Carter, and program director Khalida Popal.[11]

In November 2018, male staff of the Afghanistan Football Federation were accused of sexual and physical abuse of Afghanistan women's players.[12] The alleged abusers included the federation's president, Keramuudin Karim.[13]

2021 exodus

In August 2021, following the second takeover of the country by the Taliban, former team captain Khalida Popal who was based in Denmark, urged players to delete their social media accounts, erase public identities and burn their kits for safety's sake as they are again under Taliban rule.[14] On 25 August, the Australian government announced they had evacuated 75 Afghan women athletes including football players. FIFPro and Popal worked with authorities in six countries, including Australia, the US, and the UK, to get athletes and their families airlifted out of Afghanistan. FIFPro general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann described the evacuations as "an incredibly complex process".[15] [16]

The national team also withdrew from the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers.[17]

In March 2022, the national team was admitted into Football Victoria's state league:[18] they were placed in State League 4 West, the seventh tier of Australian women's football and sixth in the Victorian structure, as Melbourne Victory FC AWT.[19] They were promoted after both the 2022 and 2023 seasons and are playing in State League 2 for 2024.[20]

In May 2022, the team's development side which were relocated to the UK following the fall of Kabul played a friendly against non-FIFA team Surrey in Dorking.[21] [22]

Afghanistan was included in the draw in January 2023 for the 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.[23] The AFF released a statement inviting players based outside the country to play for the women's national team. However, Afghanistan would be withdrawn by the AFC. The statement, which was by an individual based in Albania who was still accredited as the media director of the AFF, was taken down by the federation. The AFF released another statement that it would not allow any players based abroad to represent the country or intend to organize a women's national team at all due to the laws of the Taliban.[24]

As of August 2024, it is unclear if, or when, FIFA would allow the team to play official international matches again.[25]

Results

See main article: Afghanistan women's national football team results.

Coaching staff

Manager history

NamePeriodMatchesWinsDrawsLossesWinning %NotesRef.
Abdul Saboor Walizada2010–201310325%
Faqir Zada20143003%
Amin Amini20150000%
2016–20172002%
Ali Jawad Ataiee2018–20216006%

Head-to-head record

OpponentConfederation
2002112−1300.00AFC
3003128−2700.00AFC
100106−600.00AFC
2002011−1100.00AFC
100102−200.00UEFA
210111050.00AFC
302134−100.00AFC
2002120−1900.00AFC
210143+150.00AFC
210125−350.00AFC
100105−500.00AFC
1001020−2000.00AFC
Total22321713117−10613.64

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup record
YearResultPositionGPWD*LGFGAGD
1991 to 2019Did not enter
2023Withdrew
2027To be determined
Total0/10

AFC Women's Asian Cup

AFC Women's Asian Cup record
YearResultGPWD*LGFGAGD
1975 to 2018Did not enter
2022Withdrew
2026To be determined
Total0/21

CAFA Women's Championship

CAFA Women's Championship record
YearResultGPWD*LGFGAGD
20185th place4004032−32
2022Did not enter
Total4004032−32

SAFF Women's Championship (2010–2016)

SAFF Women's Championship record
YearResultGPWD*LGFGAGD
2010Group stage3012218−16
2012Semi-finals4112619−13
2014Group stage3003119−18
2016Group stage2002111−10
Total4/4101271067−57

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Afghanistan: Fixtures and Results . FIFA . 19 September 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121111112800/http://www.fifa.com/associations/association%3Dafg/fixturesresults/gender%3Df/index.html . 11 November 2012.
  2. Web site: Marzban . Omid . Afghanistan: Once Whipped By Taliban, Girl Makes Mark As Soccer Star . Rferl.org . 2007-09-13 . 19 September 2012.
  3. Web site: The Afghan national }} soccer team Journal Reporter ]. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/lOGo0wAbUP4 . 2021-12-15 . live. YouTube . 19 September 2012.
  4. Web site: Afghan women footballers risk death threats, disapproval. 8 June 2011. CNN. Nick Paton Walsh. 19 September 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120313002214/http://articles.cnn.com/2011-06-08/world/afghanistan.womens.soccer_1_afghans-death-threats-nato. 13 March 2012.
  5. Web site: Women's football in Afghanistan. 17 November 2010. BBC News. 19 September 2012.
  6. News: For a Women's Soccer Team, Competing Is a Victory. The New York Times. 9 December 2010 . 19 September 2012. subscription . Nordland . Rod .
  7. Web site: NATO in Afghanistan – The Afghan ladies national football team. https://web.archive.org/web/20130502131400/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR7Sz6iDhnc . 2013-05-02 . dead. 5 December 2011. YouTube. 19 September 2012.
  8. News: Bend It in Baden-Württemberg: Afghan Women Footballers Hone Their Skills in Stuttgart – SPIEGEL ONLINE. Der Spiegel . February 2008 . Spiegel.de. 19 September 2012.
  9. Web site: Afghanistan Women: Kicking and Dreaming. Johannsen. Alissa. 26 July 2011. Women's Health Magazine. 19 September 2012.
  10. Web site: FIFA . How European nations helped Afghanistan women hone their football skills . 13 March 2023.
  11. News: Khalida Popal, Afghanistan football pioneer: 'If the haters couldn't stop me, Trump can't'. The Guardian . 15 March 2017.
  12. News: Afghan authorities probe allegations of abuse in women's soccer team . 3 December 2018 . Reuters . 1 December 2018.
  13. News: Wrack . Suzanne . Fifa examining claims of sexual and physical abuse on Afghanistan women's team . 3 December 2018 . The Guardian . 30 November 2018.
  14. Web site: Former Afghan women's captain tells players to burn kits, delete photos. August 18, 2021. Reuters.
  15. News: Afghan women footballers removed from danger and taken to Australia . 25 August 2021 . https://archive.today/20210825140333/https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12390122/afghan-women-footballers-removed-from-danger-and-taken-to-australia . 25 August 2021 . Sky Sports . United Kingdom.
  16. Web site: Woodyatt . Amy . Snell . Patrick . Safe and alive, but 'traumatized,' the future of these Afghan women footballers is very uncertain . CNN . 29 November 2021 . 15 December 2021.
  17. News: 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifying round: Vietnamese team have only two rivals in group B . 17 September 2021 . VietnamPlus . Vietnam News Agency . 16 September 2021 . en . As the Afghanistan team have officially withdrawn from the qualifying round of the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup, only three teams remain in group B including Vietnam..
  18. Web site: Lynch . Joey . Afghanistan Women's National Team to play in Victorian leagues . ESPN . 27 March 2022 . 18 March 2022.
  19. Web site: Fixture For Women's State League 4 West – GameDay . GameDay . 22 April 2022.
  20. Web site: Life goal . Ashton. Kate . ABC News . 9 February 2024.
  21. Web site: Kim Kardashian and Leeds United help Afghan junior women's football team arrive in UK after escaping Taliban . Sky Sports . 9 January 2023 . 19 November 2021.
  22. Web site: Frith . Will . Afghanistan Women's Development team to play in Surrey . SheKicks . 9 January 2023 . 22 May 2022.
  23. Web site: Nalwala . Ali Asgar . Paris 2024 Olympics women's football qualifiers: India to play Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan in first round - full draw . International Olympic Committee . 17 January 2023 . 2 January 2023.
  24. News: Afghanistan: the national women's football team that isn't – DW – 03/21/2023 . 25 March 2023 . Deutsche Welle . 21 March 2023 . en.
  25. News: Lynch . Joey . Afghanistan women's football team reunite with hopes of competing in Australia . 18 February 2022 . The Guardian . 5 February 2022 . en.