The exiled Afghan women's football team is eager to return to the game

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When the militant Taliban retook power in Kabul a year and a half ago, Fatima Mursal Sadat was part of the Afghan women's national football team, and in a way she still is. The 20-year-old wears the shirt of Melbourne Victory FCAWC. The last three letters in it i.e. AWT stands for "Afghan Women Team".

A year ago, this Australian club provided an opportunity for Mersal Sadat and her compatriots to play under the slogan "Supporting the return of the Afghan women's national team to football". Since then, these Afghan women are playing in the seventh Australian league.

"With all the help we have received, we have settled well in Australia," says Mursal Sadat.

Life is not too good or too bad because we are all struggling with our families' affairs and supporting them emotionally and financially."

When Kabul fell into chaos after the Taliban seized power in August 2021, the Australian government evacuated Afghan international players. Four months later, Mursal Sadat's family fled to Iran.

According to Sadat, "Majority of (the players') families are currently outside the country but some families could not afford to leave the country and are still in Afghanistan with fear in their hearts."

Fear for relatives is a constant companion of these exiled footballers. "We all fear that if the Taliban find our families, their lives will be in danger because of us," says Sadat.

Out of the FIFA rankings

According to soccer's world governing body FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Afghanistan's women's national team ceased to exist with their flight from Kabul. Afghanistan's women's team has not been included in the FIFA rankings since early 2022.

In late February, the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) announced the formation of a new women's national team, causing a stir and attracting Afghan women abroad to join the team.Invited to apply for

Apparently the person responsible for the statement lives in Albania and is still officially listed as the AFF's media director and was supported by FIFA."The announcement was canceled by the federation," Khaleda Popal, former captain of the Afghan women's football team, told DW. The federation announced on local media that no one outside of Afghanistan could represent them and that they had no plans to rebuild the Afghan women's national team.