"But the squad have instead been turned away at airports on multiple occasions with FIFA offering no information on whether the tournament will go ahead. Given the flight time to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Australia, where the majority of the squad are based, is about 14 hours and the visas are still not sorted, it seems impossible that the original tournament schedule can be kept."
""The history of this team is such that it's really not just about sport. It's about women's rights and liberty to be who they can be, particularly for Afghan women, but also for women in other repressed societies. There is a lot of pressure on these women to succeed, to prove that they shouldn't just be back in the kitchen and making babies.""
Afghanistan's women's refugee football team has been repeatedly denied UAE entry visas and turned away at airports, leaving their planned FIFA Unites Women's Series 2025 match against Chad in doubt. Flight times from Australia, where most players are based, make timely travel impossible while visas remain unresolved. FIFA has not communicated whether the tournament will proceed despite the schedule remaining on its website. Human rights lawyer Alison Battison assisted the players' 2021 escape from Afghanistan and subsequent Australian documentation. FIFA is currently restricting players from speaking publicly. Players report widespread feelings of abandonment, trauma and disillusionment given the political and gendered risks they face.
Read at www.dw.com
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