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Afghanistan
افغانستان

Nickname(s)	The Lions of Afghanistan (شیران افغانستان)
Association	Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF)
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	CAFF (Central Asia)
Most caps	Unknown
Top scorer	Marjan Haydaree (5)
Home stadium	Ghazi Stadium
FIFA code	AFG
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	NR (5 August 2022)[1]
Highest	108 (December 2013)
Lowest	160 (December 2021)
First international
Nepal 13–0 Afghanistan  (Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh; 14 December 2010)[2]
Biggest win
Pakistan 0–4 Afghanistan  (Colombo, Sri Lanka; 10 September 2012)
Biggest defeat
Uzbekistan 20–0 Afghanistan  (Tashkent, Uzbekistan; 23 November 2018)

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 2021. They played under the authority the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF), with the majority of their home games at the Ghazi Stadium in Kabul.

History

Early History

The team was formed in 2007 by the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee with players taken from selected school girls in Kabul.[3][4][5][6][7][8] That year, the team played for the first time against the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) women's side, with Afghanistan winning 5–0. In 2008, the team traveled to Pakistan to participate in the second national tournament of Pakistan. There they won their group stage and semi-final games but lost to Baluchistan in the final.^{[citation needed]}

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] The results this time were less favourable as they faced established and more experienced teams for the first time. Afghanistan lost all of its games by at least 17 goals. ^{[citation needed]}

In February 2009, the team went to Jordan again, but this time for a training camp. The Netherlands' Women's Football Federation has shown interest in helping the team and has invited them for a training camp in Netherlands.^{[citation needed]} In October 2010 the team played a friendly match against ISAF on the NATO ground in Kabul. The Afghans won 1–0.^{[citation needed]}

In May 2010, Danish sports brand Hummel International sponsored male, female and youth teams of Afghanistan,[10] and in December the team played its first official international game, against Nepal during the South Asian Football Federation Women's Championships in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. On 16 February 2012 they completed a 2–0 win against Qatar, their first official international victory. On 10 June 2014 Afghanistan Football Federation moved from South Asian Football Federation to Central Asian Football Association.

SAFF Championship

2010 Championship

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. They then faced their neighboring rivals, Pakistan, and lost by the score of 3–0. In their last game, they faced Maldives in a match which ended with the equal score of 2–2. Afghanistan was subsequently eliminated from the tournament with only one point.

2012 Championship

The 2012 SAFF Women's Championship in Sri Lanka was the second time that Afghanistan disputed an international tournament. They faced Maldives in their first game and drew 1–1. Diba Naweed scored the team's only goal in that match. The following game with Pakistan marked Afghanistan's second win, outscoring their opponents with an abundant 4–0 goal difference. Hailai Arghandiwal and Marjan Haydaree scored one goal each, while Shabnam Rohin scored two goals in the match. The last group phase game was against Nepal, and ended in a heavy defeat of 7–1. The only goal was scored by Marjan Haydaree. Afghanistan advanced to the Semi-Finals after placing second in the group. The Semi-Final match was with India, and ended with a crushing 11–0 defeat. Thus, Afghanistan finished the tournament as one of the Semi-Final losers.

2014 Championship

The 2014 SAFF Women's Championship in Pakistan was the third time that Afghanistan disputed an international tournament. Their first game ended with a 6–1 defeat against Bangladesh. The goal was scored by Marjan Haydaree. They lost the second match 1–0 against Maldives. Their third and last encounter ended in a crushing 12–0 defeat against India. Afghanistan were eliminated from the tournament with 0 points. This marked Afghanistan's least successful participation in the SAFF Women's Championship.

2016 efforts

2016 marked a big year for the Afghanistan Women's National Team as they received support from the Afghanistan Football Federation and hired a new coaching staff consisting of head coach Kelly Lindsey, assistant coach Haley Carter, and program director Khalida Popal.[11] The team also hired fitness coach John De Witt, PhD and team physio Joelle Muro, DPT.

Along with these hires, the team prepared for the 2016 SAFF Women's Championship held in India.

The team also had a partnership with Diehard Scarves who produced official Afghanistan Women's National Team Supporter Scarves. A portion of the proceeds from these sales went to the team in their fundraising efforts in preparation for the 2016 SAFF Women's Championship.[12] During the tournament the team lost to India (27 December 2016, lost 5–1, goal scorer was Farkhunda Muhtaj in the 88th minute) and Bangladesh (29 December, lost 6–0).

The team won Tournament AFSO 2016.

2018 CAFA Women's Championship and abuse allegations

The first CAFA tournament for the women's team resulted in four matches with defeats. They earned their biggest defeat, 20–0 to Uzbekistan, who won the first tournament of the women's championship in Central Asia.

In November 2018, male staff of the Afghanistan Football Federation were accused of sexual and physical abuse of Afghanistan women's players.[13] The allegations included the federation's president, Keramuudin Karim.[14]

2021 exodus

Withdrawal from international competitions

In August 2021, following the 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]

Regroup as football club

The Afghanistan women's national team were able to regroup in Australia by early 2022. They secured a partnership with A-League club Melbourne Victory enabling the team to continue operating and train at the Darebin International Sports Centre. It is unclear if they would be allowed by FIFA to play official international matches.[19]

In March 2022, the national team was admitted into Football Victoria's state league.[20] They were placed in State League 4 West, the seventh tier of Australian women's football and sixth in the Victorian structure.[21]

Team image

Kits and crest

In 2011 the Afghanistan Football Federation had signed a 4-year contract with Hummel, to provide both the Men's and the Women's National Team for all of the sportswear from 2011 till 2015. On 6 March 2015, the Afghan Football Federation signed a new 4-year contract with hummel till 2019.

In 2016, Hummel designed a ground-breaking uniform for the Afghanistan Women's National Team which included an integrated hijab. This provides more flexibility with movements that the players can use while wearing their uniforms.

Kit suppliers

Period	Kit provider
2009–2018	Hummel

Home stadium

The major football matches in Afghanistan are held at the Afghan Football Federation Stadium (popularly known as the Ghazi Stadium) in Kabul. It was built during the reign of King Amanullah Khan in 1923. The stadium has a capacity of around 25,000 people.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Void or postponed   Fixture

2021

Manager history

As of 14 January 2022, after the match against  Tajikistan.

	Manager	Period	Record
			Matches	Won	Draw	Lost	Goals	Win %
	Abdul Saboor Walizada	2010–2013	10	4	2	4	13–37	40%
	Faqir Zada	2014	3	0	0	3	1–19	0%
	Amin Amini	2015	1	0	0	1	0–14	0%
	Kelly Lindsey	2016–2019	4	4	0	1	18–7	80%
	Ali Jawad Ataiee	2019–2021	19	8	2	9	32–77	42.1%

Head-to-head record

As of 10 November 2021, after the match against  Qatar.

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD
Bangladesh	2	0	0	2	1	12	−11
India	3	0	0	3	1	28	−27
Iran	1	0	0	1	0	6	−6
Jordan	2	0	0	2	0	11	−11
Kazakhstan	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2
Kyrgyzstan	2	1	0	1	1	1	0
Maldives	3	0	2	1	3	4	−1
Nepal	2	0	0	2	1	20	−19
Pakistan	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1
Qatar	2	1	0	1	2	5	−3
Uzbekistan	1	0	0	1	0	20	−20
Tajikistan	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5
Total	22	4	2	16	15	115	−100

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup record
Year	Result	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD
1991 to 2019	Did not enter
2023	Withdrew
Total	0/9	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

AFC Women's Asian Cup

AFC Women's Asian Cup record
Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD
1975 to 2018	Did not enter
2022	Withdrew
Total	0/20	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

CAFA Women's Championship

CAFA Women's Championship record
Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD
2018	5th place	4	0	0	4	0	32	−32
Total		4	0	0	4	0	32	−32

SAFF Women's Championship (2010–2016)

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

• Sport in Afghanistan
  • Football in Afghanistan
    • Women's football in Afghanistan
• Afghanistan men's national football team

References

External links

• اردوی تیم ملی فوتبال زنان افغانستان در آلمان
• Afghanistan women's football team picture

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