‘i Was Lost But Football Gave Me Strength’: Afghan Women Refugees On Their Fight For Recognition

“I felt rather lost,” says nan goalkeeper Elaha Safdari. “I didn’t cognize anyone, but small by small shot gave maine nan spot and powerfulness to commencement again, to commencement from zero, to build, to support going and to support pushing myself forward.”

It is 4 years since a 17-year-old Safdari arrived successful England, portion of nan Afghanistan women’s improvement squad evacuated first to Pakistan past to nan UK aft nan US withdrawal of troops and nan concession of powerfulness to nan Taliban.

Nazia Ali, a strong, accelerated and beingness midfielder for nan elder Afghanistan broadside who was evacuated to Australia, besides arsenic a minor, credits shot pinch redeeming her life. “Football is my freedom,” she says. “When I play it gives maine hope.”

Safdari’s and Ali’s paths person taken them to different sides of nan world, but shot is nan constant, nan erstwhile precocious re-signing for Rotherham and nan second playing for Box Hill United successful Melbourne while they study.

Ali was 5 erstwhile her begetter was murdered by nan Taliban and 12 erstwhile her mother suffered nan aforesaid fate. Her mum had been supportive of her playing. They shared a dream, imagining her turning retired for nan nationalist team. Ali hadn’t known what shot was until her 2 older sisters began playing but erstwhile she started location was thing else. After her parents were killed her squad were her family and shot became her resistance. “I kicked nan shot arsenic revenge against nan Taliban, who took my parents from me,” she says. “I recovered my sisterhood and organization done football.”

Those exiled communities person dissipated arsenic players person integrated into their caller homes, immoderate working, immoderate studying, immoderate playing, each fighting to survive.

Safdari says of coming to England: “I was conscionable a kid and I had to turn up overnight. It was rather reliable for maine leaving everything behind, my family, my parents, my friends, my connections. Then being a caller exile successful England wasn’t easy either because I couldn’t speak English, I had nary friends and I had nary hint astir cultures and peoples.”

Afghanistan footballer Nazia Ali (left) was only 5 erstwhile her begetter was murdered by nan Taliban, and mislaid her mother 7 years later. Photograph: James Braund/Hummel/Sneaker Freak

The connection obstruction affected her expertise to play. “I went for a fewer tests pinch a fewer clubs,” she says. “One of them successful peculiar I was really excited astir and I deliberation nan coaches were rather pleased pinch my performance. But I couldn’t speak English and I’m a goalkeeper. As a goalkeeper, I request to pass much than a lot, and I deliberation 1 of nan reasons that they rejected maine was because of nan connection barrier. It was truthful sad, erstwhile you spot you person nan talent but because of nan connection difficulties you cannot subordinate nan team.”

There has been racism, too. Some overt, immoderate little so. She has not felt competely comfortable astatine immoderate of nan teams she has played pinch aliases trialled at. One nine she had a proceedings pinch this twelvemonth hardly watched her, she says. “I told them I’ve been moving hard, sending emails backmost and distant for 3 months to conscionable travel down for this trial. But they didn’t fto maine show what I could do. Everywhere I spell I consciousness unit arsenic a refugee, for illustration I ever request to place myself. I judge that I americium a refugee, but I had to time off my country, I had to commencement again and I conscionable want group to understand what we spell done arsenic refugees. I shouldn’t person to show my communicative complete and complete again.”

Safdari was dealt a further rustle soon aft 1 of her tests 2 years ago, tearing an anterior cruciate ligament while playing for her college. “I was distant from shot for much than 2 years. It’s only been six aliases 7 months since I came backmost to playing because I was waiting a twelvemonth for my cognition and my betterment took different year. Recently I signed for Rotherham United FC and I’m backmost to playing. I emotion playing.”

Training and studying has been hard, though. Before nan summer, Safdari would decorativeness schoolhouse astatine 4pm and get nan train and a autobus and past locomotion for half an hr to get to training astatine Rotherham, which began astatine 8pm. She was ever a small early and would hide retired of nan way. Now she is trying her champion to make friends successful nan group.

Elaha Safdari is wished nan women and children backmost successful her location state will not beryllium forgotten. Photograph: Girl Power

The image has been different successful Australia, which took successful nan full elder side. Ali was capable to play pinch them initially, nan squad adopted by Melbourne Victory and operating arsenic Melbourne Victory AWNT (Afghanistan Women’s National Team) until 2024.

Then she was hunting for a squad and Box Hill welcomed her for a three-day proceedings earlier inviting her to join. The catch? It would costs A$3,000-A$4,000 (£1,460-£1,950). “I told them I couldn’t salary it because I was surviving unsocial present and I studied,” she says. “Then I told them astir my background, my story, and they offered maine a scholarship.”

Safdari and Ali are integrated and thriving. Their heroes are recognisable names: Mary Earps, Alexia Putellas and Chloe Kelly. Ali’s sisters person been capable to subordinate her. Safdari speaks to her parents each day. However, they are each haunted by their traumas and unrecorded pinch a powerful guilt of being nan fortunate ones.

“I person these emotions a lot,” Ali says. “When I first arrived successful Australia I kept having flashbacks. We each felt really sad astir our sisters successful Afghanistan. It was really difficult erstwhile friends would matter maine and telephone maine begging for help. I was really upset and rather depressed.”

News from nan state is besides triggering. “If I spot things connected nan news aliases societal media nan memories from Afghanistan travel flooding back, successful peculiar nan men who killed my parents without maine being capable to spot either of them 1 last time,” says Ali.

Safdari says: “It is difficult for maine because I’m here, I’m safe, I’m playing football, I’m getting an education, but my mind is complete location and I’m reasoning astir my parents’ and friends’ safety, their situations, what’s going connected for them. Sometimes I can’t ore connected my acquisition aliases moreover erstwhile I’m stepping connected to nan pitch.”

In caller weeks location has been a batch of joyousness arsenic nan brace reunited pinch respective teammates astatine talent recognition camps organised by Fifa, including successful Australia and England, arsenic portion an inaugural to shape an Afghan women’s exile team. Stories person been shared, including of their experiences of isolation and racism and their displacement.

Safdari is effusive successful her praise for nan erstwhile England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley, who coached nan goalkeepers astatine nan Fifa-run campy successful England and gave her a first sensation of top-level goalkeeper coaching, arsenic she was self-taught successful Afghanistan. The actions Fifa is taking are hugely appreciated by those involved, but nan players person a greater extremity goal.

Afghanistan footballer Nazia Ali (front row, 5th from left) was capable to subordinate up pinch her teammates successful Australia aft fleeing Afghanistan. Photograph: Hummel/Sneaker Freak

“It was afloat of affectional emotion and joy, seeing immoderate of my teammates aft 4 years,” says Safdari. “I felt for illustration I was uncovering pieces of myself again. It has been a awesome measurement taken by Fifa, aft 4 years of our difficult work, defense and campaigning for nan correct to play arsenic a squad for our country. We are grateful for this squad but yet our attraction and our main extremity is not a exile team. We want to play for our nationalist squad and correspond our state again.

“The Afghanistan men’s nationalist squad tin play and correspond their state but women cannot. Even our women’s cricket nationalist squad is still playing and representing our country, but not Afghans’ women’s nationalist shot team. We conscionable want Fifa to beryllium connected our broadside and thief america and conscionable fto america correspond our state erstwhile again.”

Ali says: “We are really grateful to Fifa but our conflict doesn’t extremity till we are representing our state connected nan world shape and opinionated for our sisters successful Afghanistan that can’t study, fto unsocial return portion successful sports. We are still fighting for them and that doesn’t end.”

They person 3 questions for Fifa: what does nan early for nan exile squad look for illustration beyond their matches scheduled for October? What support will location beryllium for players not selected and will they beryllium capable to effort retired again? And is location immoderate dream of nickname of an charismatic nationalist team, enabling them to genuinely correspond their state again?

Fifa was approached for comment.

Time isn’t connected nan players’ broadside and location is nary caller travel of talent coming straight from nan country. “Football has an age,” says Safdari. “Time is flying and we request it to hap arsenic quickly arsenic possible. I’m ever reasoning astir getting older and not being capable to play. Even erstwhile I was retired because of my ACL I was only 18; now I’m 20. Two years is simply a batch of clip to lose. Now my attraction is connected playing and not wasting a azygous second.

“We person truthful galore teammates who are still backmost successful Afghanistan, aliases successful Pakistan aliases Iran, who are waiting for help. Football is my instrumentality for raising my sound for each of them, my measurement of fighting and showing nan world that we’re tin of doing astonishing things.”