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).
 | |||
| Nickname(s) | The Lions of Afghanistan (شیران افغانستان) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) | ||
| Confederation | AFC (Asia) | ||
| Sub-confederation | CAFF (Central Asia) | ||
| Top scorer | Marjan Haydaree (5) | ||
| Home stadium | Ghazi Stadium | ||
| FIFA code | AFG | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | NR (16 August 2024)[1] | ||
| Highest | 106 (December 2017 – March 2018) | ||
| Lowest | 160 (December 2021) | ||
| First international | |||
 Nepal 13–0 Afghanistan  (Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh; 14 December 2010)[2] | |||
| Last international | |||
 Afghanistan 0–5 Tajikistan  (Tashkent, Uzbekistan; 27 November 2018) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
 Pakistan 0–4 Afghanistan (Colombo, Sri Lanka; 10 September 2012) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Uzbekistan 20–0 Afghanistan (Tashkent, Uzbekistan; 23 November 2018) | |||
History
editEarly history
editThe team was formed in 2007 by the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee with players drawn from among selected school girls in Kabul.[3][4][5][6][7][8]
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.[9]
In May 2010, Danish sports brand Hummel International sponsored male, female and youth teams of Afghanistan.[10]
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.[11]
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.[12]
In November 2018, male staff of the Afghanistan Football Federation were accused of sexual and physical abuse of Afghanistan women's players.[13] The alleged abusers included the federation's president, Keramuudin Karim.[14]
2021 exodus
editIn 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.[15] 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".[16][17]
The national team also withdrew from the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers.[18]
In March 2022, the national team was admitted into Football Victoria's state league:[19] 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.[20] They were promoted after both the 2022 and 2023 seasons and are playing in State League 2 for 2024.[21]
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.[22][23]
Afghanistan was included in the draw in January 2023 for the 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.[24] The CAFF 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.[25]
Results
editCoaching staff
editManager history
edit| Name | Period | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Winning % | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abdul Saboor Walizada
|
2010–2013 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 30% | ||
| Faqir Zada
|
2014 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0% | ||
| Amin Amini
|
2015 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | ||
| 2016–2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | |||
| Ali Jawad Ataiee
|
2018–2021 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0% |
Head-to-head record
edit- As of 27 March 2024:
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W% | Confederation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bangladesh |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12 | −13 | 00.00 | AFC |
 India |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 28 | −27 | 00.00 | AFC |
 Iran |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 00.00 | AFC |
 Jordan |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | −11 | 00.00 | AFC |
 Kazakhstan |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 00.00 | UEFA |
 Kyrgyzstan |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 | AFC |
 Maldives |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 00.00 | AFC |
| Nepal |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 20 | −19 | 00.00 | AFC |
| Pakistan |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 50.00 | AFC |
 Qatar |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 50.00 | AFC |
| Tajikistan |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 00.00 | AFC |
| Uzbekistan |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | −20 | 00.00 | AFC |
| Total | 22 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 13 | 117 | −106 | 13.64 | — |
Competitive record
editFIFA Women's World Cup
edit| FIFA Women's World Cup record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GF | GA | GD |
 1991 to  2019
|
Did not enter | ||||||||
  2023
|
Withdrew | ||||||||
 2027
|
To be determined | ||||||||
| Total | 0/10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
Olympic Games
edit| Year | Result | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 |
Withdrew | ||||||||
AFC Women's Asian Cup
edit| AFC Women's Asian Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | GP | W | D* | L | GF | GA | GD |
 1975 to 2018
|
Did not enter | |||||||
| 2022
|
Withdrew | |||||||
| 2026
|
To be determined | |||||||
| Total | 0/21 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
CAFA Women's Championship
edit| CAFA Women's Championship record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | GP | W | D* | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 2018 |
5th place | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 32 | −32 |
| 2022 |
Did not enter | |||||||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 32 | −32 | |
SAFF Women's Championship (2010–2016)
edit| SAFF Women's Championship record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | GP | W | D* | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 2010 |
Group stage | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 18 | −16 |
 2012 |
Semi-finals | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 19 | −13 |
| 2014 |
Group stage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 19 | −18 |
| 2016 |
Group stage | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 11 | −10 |
| Total | 4/4 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 67 | −57 |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 16 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "Afghanistan: Fixtures and Results". FIFA. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ Marzban, Omid (13 September 2007). "Afghanistan: Once Whipped By Taliban, Girl Makes Mark As Soccer Star". Rferl.org. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ "The Afghan national womens [sic] soccer team | Journal Reporter". YouTube. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ Nick Paton Walsh (8 June 2011). "Afghan women footballers risk death threats, disapproval". CNN. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ "Women's football in Afghanistan". BBC News. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ Nordland, Rod (9 December 2010). "For a Women's Soccer Team, Competing Is a Victory". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ "NATO in Afghanistan – The Afghan ladies national football team". YouTube. 5 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ "Bend It in Baden-Württemberg: Afghan Women Footballers Hone Their Skills in Stuttgart – SPIEGEL ONLINE". Der Spiegel. Spiegel.de. February 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ Johannsen, Alissa (26 July 2011). "Afghanistan Women: Kicking and Dreaming". Women's Health Magazine. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ "How European nations helped Afghanistan women hone their football skills". FIFA. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
- ^ "Khalida Popal, Afghanistan football pioneer: 'If the haters couldn't stop me, Trump can't'". The Guardian. 15 March 2017.
- ^ "Afghan authorities probe allegations of abuse in women's soccer team". Reuters. 1 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
- ^ Wrack, Suzanne (30 November 2018). "Fifa examining claims of sexual and physical abuse on Afghanistan women's team". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
- ^ "Former Afghan women's captain tells players to burn kits, delete photos". Reuters. 18 August 2021.
- ^ "Afghan women footballers removed from danger and taken to Australia". Sky Sports. United Kingdom. 25 August 2021. Archived from the original on 25 August 2021.
- ^ Woodyatt, Amy; Snell, Patrick (29 November 2021). "Safe and alive, but 'traumatized,' the future of these Afghan women footballers is very uncertain". CNN. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ "2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifying round: Vietnamese team have only two rivals in group B". VietnamPlus. Vietnam News Agency. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
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.
- ^ Lynch, Joey (18 March 2022). "Afghanistan Women's National Team to play in Victorian leagues". ESPN. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ "Fixture For Women's State League 4 West – GameDay". GameDay. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
- ^ Ashton, Kate (9 February 2024). "Life goal". ABC News.
- ^ "Kim Kardashian and Leeds United help Afghan junior women's football team arrive in UK after escaping Taliban". Sky Sports. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ Frith, Will (22 May 2022). "Afghanistan Women's Development team to play in Surrey". SheKicks. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ Nalwala, Ali Asgar (2 January 2023). "Paris 2024 Olympics women's football qualifiers: India to play Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan in first round - full draw". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
- ^ "Afghanistan: the national women's football team that isn't – DW – 03/21/2023". Deutsche Welle. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.