Zurich (AP) – The Afghan National Women’s Soccer Team of refugees is holding its first official game in a four-team tournament held in Dubai next month.
Teams supported by FIFA – Afghanistan will not be officially represented in the World Cup qualifiers yet. They will face hosts UAE, Chad and Libya at the event from October 23rd to 29th.
Afghanistan has not played official women’s competitive games since 2018, and the return of the Taliban regime to power in 2021 has shut down women’s sports. The Afghan football federation has not been suspended from international football, but is obliged under the FIFA Act to avoid discrimination.
The tournament “enhances FIFA’s efforts to promote and protect the rights of all women and girls to play sports, pursues football’s dreams and thrives the game,” Soccerbody said.
The women’s teams in Chad and Libyan do not yet have FIFA rankings, with UAE being number 117.
FIFA said all games in the round robin tournament will be broadcast live on in-house streaming platforms.
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