Afghanistan women's national football team

This article is about the women's team. For the men’s team, see Afghanistan national football team.

Afghanistan
Nickname(s)The Lions of Afghanistan
(شیران افغانستان)
AssociationN/A
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationCAFA (Central Asia)
Head coachPauline Hamill
Top scorerMarjan Haydaree (5)
FIFA codeAFG
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
CurrentNR (7 August 2025)[1]
Highest106 (December 2017 – March 2018)
Lowest160 (December 2021)
First international
 Nepal 13–0  
(Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh; 14 December 2010)[2]
Biggest win
 Pakistan 0–4  
(Colombo, Sri Lanka; 10 September 2012)
Biggest defeat
 Uzbekistan 20–0  
(Tashkent, Uzbekistan; 23 November 2018)
CAFA Championship
Appearances1 (first in 2018)
Best resultGroup stage (2018)
SAFF Championship
Appearances4 (first in 2010)
Best resultSemi-finals (2012)

The Afghanistan women's national football team (Dari: تیم ملی فوتبال زنان افغانستان) is 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) until women's football was banned in their home country under Taliban rule.

In May 2025, FIFA has sanctioned the creation of an Afghan women's refugee team.

History

Early history

The 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

In 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]

FIFA-recognized refugee team

In May 2025, FIFA sanctioned the creation of a Afghanistan women's refugee team which will be allowed to compete in official tournaments. The program will tentatively run for one year under a pilot phase.[26][27] Pauline Hamill was appointed as head coach and is tasked to hold three identification camps prior to playing FIFA-approved friendlies in late 2025.[28] Reportedly they are still unable to compete in international competitions.[29]

Results and fixtures

Main article: Afghanistan women's national football team results

Coaching history

Name Period Matches Wins Draws Losses Winning %
Afghanistan Abdul Saboor Walizada 2010–2013 10 3 2 5 30%
Afghanistan Faqir Zada 2014 3 0 0 3 0%
Afghanistan Amin Amini 2015 0 0 0 0 0%
United States Kelly Lindsey 2016–2017 2 0 0 2 0%
Afghanistan Ali Jawad Ataiee 2018–2021 6 0 0 6 0%
Scotland Pauline Hamill 2025– 0 0 0 0 0%

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup record Qualification
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
China 1991 to China 2007 Did not exist Did not exist
Germany 2011 to France 2019 Did not enter Did not enter
Australia New Zealand 2023 Withdrew from qualification Via AFC Women's Asian Cup
Brazil 2027 Did not enter Did not enter
MexicoUnited States 2031 To be determined To be determined
United Kingdom 2035
Total — 0/10 — — — — — — — — — — — —

Summer Olympics

Summer Olympics record Qualification
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
United States 1996 to China 2008 Did not exist Did not exist
United Kingdom 2012 to Japan 2020 Did not enter Did not enter
France 2024 Withdrew from qualification Withdrew
United States 2028 Did not enter Did not enter
Total — 0/8 — — — — — — — — — — — —

AFC Women's Asian Cup

AFC Women's Asian Cup record Qualification
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Hong Kong 1975 to China 2010 Did not exist Did not exist
Vietnam 2014 to Jordan 2018 Did not enter Did not enter
India 2022 Withdrew from qualification Withdrew
Australia 2026 Did not enter Did not enter
Uzbekistan 2029 To be determined To be determined
Total — 0/21 — — — — — — — — — — — —

CAFA Women's Championship

CAFA Women's Championship record
Year Result GP W D* L GS GA GD
Uzbekistan 2018 Group stage 4 0 0 4 0 32 −32
Tajikistan 2022 Did not enter
Total 1/2 4 0 0 4 0 32 −32
*Denotes draws includes knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

SAFF Women's Championship

SAFF Women's Championship record
Year Result GP W D* L GS GA GD
Bangladesh 2010 Group stage 3 0 1 2 2 18 −16
Sri Lanka 2012 Semi-final 4 1 1 2 6 19 −13
Pakistan 2014 Group stage 3 0 0 3 1 19 −18
India 2016 Group stage 2 0 0 2 1 11 −10
Total 4/7 12 1 2 9 10 67 −57
*Denotes draws includes knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Head-to-head record

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 —

See also

References

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 7 August 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  2. ^ "Afghanistan: Fixtures and Results". FIFA. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  3. ^ Marzban, Omid (13 September 2007). "Afghanistan: Once Whipped By Taliban, Girl Makes Mark As Soccer Star". Rferl.org. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  4. ^ "The Afghan national womens [sic] soccer team | Journal Reporter". YouTube. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "Women's football in Afghanistan". BBC News. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  7. ^ Nordland, Rod (9 December 2010). "For a Women's Soccer Team, Competing Is a Victory". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ Johannsen, Alissa (26 July 2011). "Afghanistan Women: Kicking and Dreaming". Women's Health Magazine. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  11. ^ "How European nations helped Afghanistan women hone their football skills". FIFA. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Khalida Popal, Afghanistan football pioneer: 'If the haters couldn't stop me, Trump can't'". The Guardian. 15 March 2017.
  13. ^ "Afghan authorities probe allegations of abuse in women's soccer team". Reuters. 1 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  14. ^ Wrack, Suzanne (30 November 2018). "Fifa examining claims of sexual and physical abuse on Afghanistan women's team". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  15. ^ "Former Afghan women's captain tells players to burn kits, delete photos". Reuters. 18 August 2021.
  16. ^ "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.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ Lynch, Joey (18 March 2022). "Afghanistan Women's National Team to play in Victorian leagues". ESPN. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  20. ^ "Fixture For Women's State League 4 West – GameDay". GameDay. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  21. ^ Ashton, Kate (9 February 2024). "Life goal". ABC News.
  22. ^ "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.
  23. ^ Frith, Will (22 May 2022). "Afghanistan Women's Development team to play in Surrey". SheKicks. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ "Afghanistan: the national women's football team that isn't – DW – 03/21/2023". Deutsche Welle. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  26. ^ Millar, Colin (9 May 2025). "FIFA sanctions creation of Afghanistan women's refugee team". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  27. ^ "FIFA OKs creation of Afghanistan women's refugee team". 10 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  28. ^ "FIFA announces first coach of Afghan women's refugee team". ABC News. 25 July 2025. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  29. ^ "Afghanistan's women's football team are fighting to play". Huck. 14 August 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
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