Latest news with #Mohammadi
Qatar Tribune
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Miguel's strike against Iran secures Qatar progress into the playoffs
Tribune News Network Doha Qatar kept their FIFA World Cup qualification hopes alive on Thursday as Pedro Miguel scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over the 10 men of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Thursday to confirm his side's progress to the playoffs of the AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road to 26. The back-to-back AFC Asian Cup champions made the most of Milad Mohammadi's 35th minute sending off to secure a win against the already-qualified Iranians as Qatar moved into fourth place in Group A and advance to the playoffs, where an additional two slots to the FIFA World Cup 2026 will be at stake. Miguel netted in the 41st minute and victory in Julien Lopetegui's first game in charge takes Qatar onto 13 points from nine games and leaves the 2022 FIFA World Cup hosts a point behind the United Arab Emirates with Tuesday's clash with Uzbekistan remaining. The Iranians went into the game having confirmed their progress to a seventh FIFA World Cup in March and Saeid Ezatolahi twice tested Meshaal Barsham inside the first 10 minutes, the goalkeeper dealing with both efforts as the visitors started the game on the front foot. It took Qatar time to settle and Ahmed Al Ganehi hit a rising shot over the bar in the 17th minute at the end of a fluent move that had seen Edmilson Junior find Almoez Ali in the area, allowing the AFC Asian Cup winner to lay off possession to his team mate. Two quick yellow cards in succession saw Iranian defender Mohammadi sent off, the veteran dismissed with more than 10 minutes remaining in the first half for a clumsy challenge on Edmilson Junior that saw him fly into the back of the Belgium-born winger. Alireza Beiranvand was at full stretch to keep out Akram Afif's low effort from the edge of the area soon after Mohammadi was dismissed and, with four minutes left in the half, the Iranian goalkeeper was beaten as Qatar took the lead. Karim Boudiaf clipped the ball into the penalty area for Correia and the persistent full-back slotted past Beiranvand from close range at the second attempt after the goalkeeper had saved his initial header from close range. Roozbeh Cheshmi had a sight of goal for the Iranians midway through the half as he nodded Saman Ghoddos' cross wide of Barsham's goal in a reminder to the Qataris of the threat their visitors presented despite being a man down. But Qatar held on to take the three points to maintain their FIFA World Cup qualifying dream by handing the Iranians their first defeat of the third phase of the preliminaries.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Afghan men jailed for piloting boatload of 70 migrants across the Channel - in crossing that killed woman and child on same day Dunkirk flotilla set sail
Two Afghan men who piloted a boat carrying 70 migrants across the Channel, during the same crossing in which a woman and child died, have been jailed. Shah Salim Sajjadi, 38, and Safiollah Mohammadi, 25, were detained after the packed dinghy arrived onshore in Dover on May 21. The vessel was among 13 carrying 825 people in total, which crossed the Channel as a flotilla of 'Little Ships' took part in a Dunkirk evacuation memorial on the 85th anniversary of the WW2 rescue. During their 45-mile journey to remember the rescue from May 1940, Border Force and the French navy asked the boats to clear a one-mile area so the migrant dinghy could pass through. On departure from a beach near Calais earlier in the day, a woman and child were picked up by a French coastal patrol vessel from the overcrowded boat after it got into difficulty but were declared dead. At the time, French officials said most of the rest of the migrants aboard the inflatable refused rescue and carried on to UK. French police are now probing the deaths under the direction of the Dunkirk prosecutor's office, the National Crime Agency has said. After the boat's arrival in the UK, Sajjadi and Mohammadi were arrested and questioned by NCA investigators before being charged with facilitating illegal immigration to the UK. A group of migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard an RNLI Lifeboat after a crossing on May 21 They later pleaded guilty at a hearing at Folkestone Magistrates' Court on 24 May and have now been jailed for eight months. NCA Branch Commander Adam Berry said: 'This tragic incident demonstrates just how dangerous these crossings are, and the callous nature of those who organise them. 'The boat in question was dangerously overcrowded, but Sajjadi and Mohammadi chose to carry on their journey. 'We continue to work with French colleagues to investigate the circumstances of this crossing and the fatalities.' Refugee charity Utopia 56 said it alerted emergency services to the tragedy, writing on X at the time: '"The boat is broken, two people are dead." This is the information we received during a distress call in the English Channel this morning.' Chris Cox, who was coordinating the flotilla celebrating Operation Dynamo, described the moment one of the boats carrying migrants was spotted by a French vessel He said: 'There was a migrant boat in the water that was being covered by a French naval vessel. He added that after being notified, he steered clear 'and let the authorities look after it'. He added: 'For the people in the small boat, they have never done this before, and they don't know what to expect.' The recreation, however, was unhindered on its journey from Ramsgate to Dunkirk, save for the interruption from border officials and the French. The Telegraph reported that sailors were told in a maritime frequency message: 'There is a (French) warship on our head with a migrant (boat) close by. 'And we've been requested to give one nautical mile distance from that vessel, over.' A French-accented voice, believed to be from the French naval vessel Oyapock, then replied: 'Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.' Since Labour came into power, 38,049 people have crossed the English Channel on 685 boats. That averages around 114 migrants crossing per day, higher than the daily averages under Rishi Sunak, 81, and Boris Johnson, 57, but lower than during Liz Truss's brief tenure, when it reached 212. So far this year, a total of 14,807 people have made the crossing. It comes after nearly 1,200 migrants crossed the Channel to the UK in a single day, with one of Sir Keir Starmer's ministers saying over the weekend that control of Britain's borders had been lost. The Prime Minister faced backlash over what was described as a 'day of shame' as a surge in dinghy crossings overwhelmed both French and UK border patrols. The latest Home Office figures reveal that 1,194 migrants arrived in 18 boats, pushing the provisional total for the year so far to 14,811. This is 42 per cent higher than the 10,448 recorded at the same time last year and a staggering 95 per cent increase on the 7,610 from 2023, according to analysis by PA news agency. It is still lower than the highest daily total of 1,305 arrivals since data began in 2018, which was recorded on September 3, 2022. But the total of arrivals for the year, 14,811, is the highest ever recorded for the first five months of a year since data was first recorded on Channel crossings in 2018. It has also surpassed the highest total recorded for the first six months of the year, which was previously 13,489 on June 30 last year - and in 2024, the number of arrivals did not reach more than 14,000 until July 9, reaching 14,058. At Gravelines in northern France, more than half a dozen French police officers simply stood by on Saturday morning and watched as migrants waded into the sea and scrambled onto an inflatable boat. French authorities said they rescued 184 people. On Sunday, Defence Secretary John Healey told Trevor Phillips on Sky News: 'Pretty shocking, those scenes yesterday. 'The truth is, Britain's lost control of its borders over the last five years. 'The last government last year left an asylum system in chaos and record levels of immigration. 'But I think that yesterday tells us a really big problem, which is that you've got French police unable to intervene and intercept the boats when they are in shallow water. 'We saw the smugglers launching elsewhere and coming round like a taxi to pick them up.' Mr Healey insisted there was 'new co-operation' with the French, suggesting their officials would intervene in the water. When asked whether he was 'hacked off' with France for not doing so now, Mr Healey said: 'They are not doing it, but we've got the agreement that they will change the way they work. 'Our concentration now is to push them to get that into operation so they can intercept these smugglers and stop these people in the boats, not just on the shore.' Reacting to the huge crossing numbers, the Conservatives' former Home Secretary James Cleverly today said: 'The arrogance of Starmer, Cooper and the rest. 'They thought border control would be easy for the oh-so-clever progressive Labour government. They thought they could achieve more by doing less. Their hubris is now plain to see. 'I warned Yvette Cooper that scrapping the Rwanda agreement would send the wrong message to people smugglers. She ignored me. 'I said the Border Security Command duplicated the work of the Small Boats Operation Command and therefore wasn't adding value. She ignored me. 'Scrapping so many elements of the Illegal Migration Act and fast-tracking asylum acceptances would attract more illegal migration. 'She ignored me. And now we see the worst small boat arrival figures ever.'
Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Gujarat Confidential: Reaching out
Citing the case of demolition of Mohammadi madrasa in Amreli's Dhari taluka on May 13, Congress MLA Imran Khedawala and former MLA Gyasuddin Sheikh appealed to the community to take a lesson from the incident. They exhorted the community members to immediately come forward to protect religious, residential and commercial properties by paying the impact fee and regularising unauthorised constructions, which are without government permission, by June 17 — the deadline for the purpose. 'Muslim community should come forward to regularise the construction of mosques, dargahs and madrasas as there is a conspiracy to demolish these settlements…in any way across the state,' the Congress leaders alleged in a statement. In the budget session, Khedawala, the lone Muslim MLA in the Assembly, had become the target of minister Jagdish Vishwakarma who had suggested that encroachments by a 'particular community' were impeding development works. Days after he was suspended from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for 'damaging party image', Vadodara Municipal Corporation's corporator Ashish Joshi has received a notice from the District Collector and District Magistrate of Vadodara to appear for a hearing in an alleged case of land grabbing in the Danteshwar area of the city, where Joshi resides. The former BJP leader, who has been leading the cause of the victims of the January 2024 Harni Boat Tragedy that killed 14 persons, including 12 students and two teachers, has been named as a respondent in the notice under the Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020, along with 19 others. Joshi said, 'The notice has been pasted on the Pashupatinath Mahadev temple that is located on land that is said to be government land, outside the legally constructed residential colony where I reside. The area has a slum settlement around, and 19 persons from the slums have been made respondents in the case… I park my car in the compound of the temple, which, I presume, has made them serve me a notice…' He further said, 'We will appear before the committee with the documents as directed. The notice is evidence that under the BJP rule, seeking justice and speaking for victims is seen as a crime and the machinery will be sent after you.'
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Taliban ruined the dreams of female Afghan footballers. In exile, their struggle to play continues
The Taliban ruined the dreams of female Afghan footballers. In exile, their struggle to play continues 'My team-mates are my sisters. Our dream is to play together again, standing side by side.' In June 2021, Fatima Foladi was a rising football star in Afghanistan when she scored against Tajikistan in an under-17 international match. Advertisement Two months later, her life was turned upside down. The Taliban's return to power led to the repression of women's rights in the Asian country, restricting basic freedoms and banning teenage girls from education. The United Nations said such treatment could amount to 'gender apartheid'. Foladi, then aged 16, went to Kabul International Airport where, upon showing her national football credentials, she was assisted by the U.S. military in boarding a flight to America. She was not alone in fleeing Afghanistan; more than 75 people associated with the nation's women's senior football team — including players, officials and their families — escaped to Australia, assisted by FIFPro, football's global players' union. Others fled to countries in Europe, including the United Kingdom. Women's sports are banned in Afghanistan. Advertisement The regulations of FIFA, world football's governing body, require recognition by a national federation for teams to compete. The Taliban-controlled Afghan Football Federation (AFF) does not acknowledge its women's teams. As a result, the Afghanistan senior women's side have not played an official match since 2018 and a nation with a population exceeding 40 million no longer features in FIFA's 196-team women's world rankings. Going forward, Afghanistan are excluded from the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers draw, which feeds into the qualification process for the Women's World Cup in Brazil the following year. In response, players and others are campaigning for FIFA to recognise the team and allow them to represent their homeland. Advertisement Last month, Nilab Mohammadi joined Skye United in Melbourne, Australia. Mohammadi, a striker, captained Afghanistan when they last played an official game in 2018. Six months after fleeing to Australia, she was among the Afghan migrants to represent Melbourne Victory FC AWT — AWT symbolising Afghanistan Women's Team — which began life in Australia's seventh tier in 2022. 'Afghanistan's women's football team is a symbol of victory, peace and hope for Afghan women around the world,' Mohammadi says. 'We will not give up fighting to play.' She believes the symbolism of what the national team represents is crucial: 'The rights and freedoms of women in Afghanistan must be highlighted and defended. This is our appeal to the world. Women's football means fighting for freedom and respect.' Advertisement Before the Taliban takeover, Mohammadi was in the Afghan army and had completed her political science degree at Kabul's Kardan University — rights no longer afforded to females in her country. 'My interest in politics was about defending women's rights and showing that, in an Islamic society, women can serve a nation in the same way men do.' After migrating to Australia, Mohammadi combined studying English with her football career and again wants to serve in the army. Foladi, like Mohammadi, has been able to continue playing football and enjoying career opportunities denied to their fellow female Afghans who did not escape their home nation. Having initially settled in the U.S. city of Boston, Foladi is now an aerospace student at the University of Michigan. 'Becoming an aerospace engineer has always been my dream,' Foladi says. 'Growing up in that environment (in Afghanistan), you are not encouraged to do these things and are told to do something easier. But the more people tell me I cannot do something, I want to do it. My personality is to prove that to myself and to others. It motivates me.' Foladi says she is 'always grateful' for the opportunities afforded to her in America but admits it is painful to have had to flee her home: 'Moving to the United States left behind a part of me. I am away from my country, the girls who were my team-mates and my friends. I left everything and everyone I knew for 15 years. It was heartbreaking.' Advertisement Khalida Popal founded the Afghan women's side, and was the first woman to work for the AFF. She fled Afghanistan in 2011, fearing for her safety, and now lives in Denmark, where she sought asylum. She pioneered female football in Afghanistan and had received death threats. 'Football is the platform where we can represent our sisters and be their voice,' Popal says. 'These players have been through trauma, but they have not stopped advocating for their rights. We feel responsible for our sisters. We can show our adversity with pride and show that we exist. We believe this team can become role models for oppressed women around the world.' Popal is cautious and realistic about a return to the international stage. Her experience of violent threats and sinister phone calls prompted her to advise female Afghan players to wipe their social media presence. 'The players' security is vital because if this group of players come together, they may be a target,' Popal says. 'We need to think of risk measurements to take if they play a match in the region. Are we protecting them, or putting them in danger?' Advertisement There are other factors too, Popal says. 'These women have been traumatised several times, so do they have the player care that they need?' Providing a safe environment in which to play would be the responsibility of the football authorities. In March, in response to a report by the Sports and Rights Alliance (SRA, a coalition of rights groups), FIFA pledged to 'promote the wellbeing of women and girls in Afghanistan' and provide 'measures to promote the provision of playing opportunities and other forms of support for those players who are currently outside of Afghanistan'. World football's governing body said it would engage in 'advocacy and diplomacy' with the relevant bodies 'to explore ways to reduce the exclusion from sport of women and girls in Afghanistan over time'. Advertisement Popal has praised this 'collaborative' approach. FIFA says it supported the evacuation of around 160 people in total from Afghanistan in October 2021, around 70 per cent of whom were women and children, including female players. 'I have had good conversations with FIFA, and I am glad they are finally listening to the players,' Popal says. FIFA has not, however, communicated whether it intends to officially recognise the Afghan women's teams or how any specific funding would be allocated. Its position is that the situation is ongoing. The body acknowledged that time would be required for the Afghan teams to achieve their goals, but also spoke of their 'duty to do (its) best to use football's power to unite, inspire change and create opportunities', committing to continued engagement with the players and SRA. Advertisement 'FIFA should be questioned as to why our team is not recognised,' says Mohammadi. 'We are working so hard to continue our fight. Not being recognised is a huge disappointment, but we will not give up. We will continue to fight and speak out.' Mohammadi also explains that the team set up an online petition for recognition by FIFA. At the time of writing, it had amassed more than 185,000 signatures. 'FIFA's statement is a step in the right direction, but it is very small,' Foladi says. 'There have been years of silence, which have been very painful for us. The statement alone is not enough and promises only matter if they result in meaningful action. 'Our existence has been removed, and we have been denied access to normality. Football needs to place humanity over politics. This cannot be delayed. Football is supposed to be a place where all humans can come together regardless of their nationality or politics. Sport needs to remember these values.' Advertisement Football is not the only sport to face questions over Afghan women's participation. Cricket's global governing body, the ICC, requires its members to recognise a national women's team and have female pathway structures in place for full membership status. Afghanistan remains one of just 12 full members of the ICC, despite its women's teams no longer being recognised. Afghanistan's men's team have retained their Test status, reached the semi-finals of last year's Twenty20 World Cup and played in the 50-over-a-side Champions Trophy this February, where they defeated England. Ahead of that match, a cross-party letter signed by nearly 200 UK politicians was sent to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to call for a boycott of the game. The ECB said the situation in Afghanistan was 'heartbreaking' and was 'nothing short of gender apartheid', but the fixture went ahead. Last month, the ICC announced the formation of a dedicated task force to support displaced Afghan female cricketers. The organisation said it would 'establish a dedicated fund to provide direct monetary assistance, ensuring these cricketers have the resources they need to continue pursuing the game they love'. Advertisement It added: 'This will be complemented by a robust high-performance programme offering advanced coaching, world-class facilities and tailored mentorship to help them reach their full potential.' After suffering a career-ending knee injury, Popal set up her own organisation, called Girl Power. She believes sport motivates and empowers minority groups in Europe and enables refugees to connect and assimilate with locals. Popal wants football to do more to help displaced players, including those from Afghanistan. 'There is no integration for our players to continue careers,' Popal says. 'The sports system discriminates against refugees. These players risked everything to play football. They managed to flee Afghanistan, but they arrive in countries that will not empathise with them. 'For instance, some arrive in the UK. They go to a job centre and are told that any financial support will be removed if they play football, because it is not a priority career. So what option do they have but to sacrifice football? If you are a refugee from a Muslim country or the Middle East, the system is not made for you. Football has no system in place for those who go through these challenges. Which door should we be knocking?' Advertisement Foladi and Mohammadi are, by any measure, privileged in comparison to many of their fellow Afghan women. They both escaped the nation and so avoided direct Taliban oppression, could continue with their educational and career pathways, and continue to play sport without fear. They speak positively about the U.S. and Australia, respectively. Yet both are also refugees, unwillingly separated from their country, friends, family and team-mates. They have faced adversity, challenges and worries that most people, never mind athletes, ever even contemplate. 'We want people to appreciate their privilege and not take it for granted,' Popal says. 'Your privilege is your power. I have more privilege and freedom than most Afghan women, so I need to use my voice for them.' Mohammadi wants women who remain in Afghanistan to know 'you are not alone' and says their struggle is the motivation for the nation's dispersed footballers: 'Us Afghans outside the country will never allow your voice to be silenced. We will struggle for you.' Advertisement Foladi believes that through these 'darkest times' for Afghan women, their pain will turn into power and the return of an Afghanistan women's team will be a 'symbol of resistance' for girls and women across the nation. 'It feels like the world has forgotten us, but I promise that we will never forget each other,' Foladi says. 'Afghan women's voices matter. Their resistance matters. We are stronger than anyone else can imagine. We will be free again, we will play again, and when that day comes, the world will see the power of Afghan women.' This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Premier League, Soccer, International Football, UK Women's Football, Women's World Cup 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
05-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
The Taliban ruined the dreams of female Afghan footballers. In exile, their struggle to play continues
'My team-mates are my sisters. Our dream is to play together again, standing side by side.' In June 2021, Fatima Foladi was a rising football star in Afghanistan when she scored against Tajikistan in an under-17 international match. Two months later, her life was turned upside down. The Taliban's return to power led to the repression of women's rights in the Asian country, restricting basic freedoms and banning teenage girls from education. The United Nations said such treatment could amount to 'gender apartheid'. Advertisement Foladi, then aged 16, went to Kabul International Airport where, upon showing her national football credentials, she was assisted by the U.S. military in boarding a flight to America. She was not alone in fleeing Afghanistan; more than 75 people associated with the nation's women's senior football team — including players, officials and their families — escaped to Australia, assisted by FIFPro, football's global players' union. Others fled to countries in Europe, including the United Kingdom. Women's sports are banned in Afghanistan. The regulations of FIFA, world football's governing body, require recognition by a national federation for teams to compete. The Taliban-controlled Afghan Football Federation (AFF) does not acknowledge its women's teams. As a result, the Afghanistan senior women's side have not played an official match since 2018 and a nation with a population exceeding 40 million no longer features in FIFA's 196-team women's world rankings. Going forward, Afghanistan are excluded from the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers draw, which feeds into the qualification process for the Women's World Cup in Brazil the following year. In response, players and others are campaigning for FIFA to recognise the team and allow them to represent their homeland. Last month, Nilab Mohammadi joined Skye United in Melbourne, Australia. Mohammadi, a striker, captained Afghanistan when they last played an official game in 2018. Six months after fleeing to Australia, she was among the Afghan migrants to represent Melbourne Victory FC AWT — AWT symbolising Afghanistan Women's Team — which began life in Australia's seventh tier in 2022. 'Afghanistan's women's football team is a symbol of victory, peace and hope for Afghan women around the world,' Mohammadi says. 'We will not give up fighting to play.' She believes the symbolism of what the national team represents is crucial: 'The rights and freedoms of women in Afghanistan must be highlighted and defended. This is our appeal to the world. Women's football means fighting for freedom and respect.' Before the Taliban takeover, Mohammadi was in the Afghan army and had completed her political science degree at Kabul's Kardan University — rights no longer afforded to females in her country. 'My interest in politics was about defending women's rights and showing that, in an Islamic society, women can serve a nation in the same way men do.' After migrating to Australia, Mohammadi combined studying English with her football career and again wants to serve in the army. Advertisement Foladi, like Mohammadi, has been able to continue playing football and enjoying career opportunities denied to their fellow female Afghans who did not escape their home nation. Having initially settled in the U.S. city of Boston, Foladi is now an aerospace student at the University of Michigan. 'Becoming an aerospace engineer has always been my dream,' Foladi says. 'Growing up in that environment (in Afghanistan), you are not encouraged to do these things and are told to do something easier. But the more people tell me I cannot do something, I want to do it. My personality is to prove that to myself and to others. It motivates me.' Foladi says she is 'always grateful' for the opportunities afforded to her in America but admits it is painful to have had to flee her home: 'Moving to the United States left behind a part of me. I am away from my country, the girls who were my team-mates and my friends. I left everything and everyone I knew for 15 years. It was heartbreaking.' Khalida Popal founded the Afghan women's side, and was the first woman to work for the AFF. She fled Afghanistan in 2011, fearing for her safety, and now lives in Denmark, where she sought asylum. She pioneered female football in Afghanistan and had received death threats. 'Football is the platform where we can represent our sisters and be their voice,' Popal says. 'These players have been through trauma, but they have not stopped advocating for their rights. We feel responsible for our sisters. We can show our adversity with pride and show that we exist. We believe this team can become role models for oppressed women around the world.' Popal is cautious and realistic about a return to the international stage. Her experience of violent threats and sinister phone calls prompted her to advise female Afghan players to wipe their social media presence. 'The players' security is vital because if this group of players come together, they may be a target,' Popal says. 'We need to think of risk measurements to take if they play a match in the region. Are we protecting them, or putting them in danger?' Advertisement There are other factors too, Popal says. 'These women have been traumatised several times, so do they have the player care that they need?' Providing a safe environment in which to play would be the responsibility of the football authorities. In March, in response to a report by the Sports and Rights Alliance (SRA, a coalition of rights groups), FIFA pledged to 'promote the wellbeing of women and girls in Afghanistan' and provide 'measures to promote the provision of playing opportunities and other forms of support for those players who are currently outside of Afghanistan'. World football's governing body said it would engage in 'advocacy and diplomacy' with the relevant bodies 'to explore ways to reduce the exclusion from sport of women and girls in Afghanistan over time'. Popal has praised this 'collaborative' approach. FIFA says it supported the evacuation of around 160 people in total from Afghanistan in October 2021, around 70 per cent of whom were women and children, including female players. 'I have had good conversations with FIFA, and I am glad they are finally listening to the players,' Popal says. FIFA has not, however, communicated whether it intends to officially recognise the Afghan women's teams or how any specific funding would be allocated. Its position is that the situation is ongoing. The body acknowledged that time would be required for the Afghan teams to achieve their goals, but also spoke of their 'duty to do (its) best to use football's power to unite, inspire change and create opportunities', committing to continued engagement with the players and SRA. 'FIFA should be questioned as to why our team is not recognised,' says Mohammadi. 'We are working so hard to continue our fight. Not being recognised is a huge disappointment, but we will not give up. We will continue to fight and speak out.' Mohammadi also explains that the team set up an online petition for recognition by FIFA. At the time of writing, it had amassed more than 185,000 signatures. 'FIFA's statement is a step in the right direction, but it is very small,' Foladi says. 'There have been years of silence, which have been very painful for us. The statement alone is not enough and promises only matter if they result in meaningful action. 'Our existence has been removed, and we have been denied access to normality. Football needs to place humanity over politics. This cannot be delayed. Football is supposed to be a place where all humans can come together regardless of their nationality or politics. Sport needs to remember these values.' Football is not the only sport to face questions over Afghan women's participation. Cricket's global governing body, the ICC, requires its members to recognise a national women's team and have female pathway structures in place for full membership status. Afghanistan remains one of just 12 full members of the ICC, despite its women's teams no longer being recognised. Advertisement Afghanistan's men's team have retained their Test status, reached the semi-finals of last year's Twenty20 World Cup and played in the 50-over-a-side Champions Trophy this February, where they defeated England. Ahead of that match, a cross-party letter signed by nearly 200 UK politicians was sent to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to call for a boycott of the game. The ECB said the situation in Afghanistan was 'heartbreaking' and was 'nothing short of gender apartheid', but the fixture went ahead. Last month, the ICC announced the formation of a dedicated task force to support displaced Afghan female cricketers. The organisation said it would 'establish a dedicated fund to provide direct monetary assistance, ensuring these cricketers have the resources they need to continue pursuing the game they love'. It added: 'This will be complemented by a robust high-performance programme offering advanced coaching, world-class facilities and tailored mentorship to help them reach their full potential.' After suffering a career-ending knee injury, Popal set up her own organisation, called Girl Power. She believes sport motivates and empowers minority groups in Europe and enables refugees to connect and assimilate with locals. Popal wants football to do more to help displaced players, including those from Afghanistan. 'There is no integration for our players to continue careers,' Popal says. 'The sports system discriminates against refugees. These players risked everything to play football. They managed to flee Afghanistan, but they arrive in countries that will not empathise with them. 'For instance, some arrive in the UK. They go to a job centre and are told that any financial support will be removed if they play football, because it is not a priority career. So what option do they have but to sacrifice football? If you are a refugee from a Muslim country or the Middle East, the system is not made for you. Football has no system in place for those who go through these challenges. Which door should we be knocking?' Foladi and Mohammadi are, by any measure, privileged in comparison to many of their fellow Afghan women. They both escaped the nation and so avoided direct Taliban oppression, could continue with their educational and career pathways, and continue to play sport without fear. They speak positively about the U.S. and Australia, respectively. Yet both are also refugees, unwillingly separated from their country, friends, family and team-mates. They have faced adversity, challenges and worries that most people, never mind athletes, ever even contemplate. 'We want people to appreciate their privilege and not take it for granted,' Popal says. 'Your privilege is your power. I have more privilege and freedom than most Afghan women, so I need to use my voice for them.' Mohammadi wants women who remain in Afghanistan to know 'you are not alone' and says their struggle is the motivation for the nation's dispersed footballers: 'Us Afghans outside the country will never allow your voice to be silenced. We will struggle for you.' Advertisement Foladi believes that through these 'darkest times' for Afghan women, their pain will turn into power and the return of an Afghanistan women's team will be a 'symbol of resistance' for girls and women across the nation. 'It feels like the world has forgotten us, but I promise that we will never forget each other,' Foladi says. 'Afghan women's voices matter. Their resistance matters. We are stronger than anyone else can imagine. We will be free again, we will play again, and when that day comes, the world will see the power of Afghan women.' (Top photos: Afghanistan's women players; published with the permission of Nilab Mohammadi)
