Women who fled when the Taliban regained power are on a mission to be selected to represent their country.
By Rob Harris, sports correspondent, and Jacquie Beltrao, sports presenter.
Far from home – at the St George’s Park home of the Lionesses – female footballers from Afghanistan have been reunited.
Finally, they are playing together again. Here on a mission to win places on the Afghan refugee team, uniquely established by FIFA.
“It was like a warm hug for every single one of us,” defender Najma Arefi told Sky News. “Being here together and working as a team.
“And we want to share with the world that we are still here and are still fighting.”
‘A dog on the street has more rights’
But away from the pitch, they reflect why they are here, of everything lost when the Taliban rapidly regained power in August 2021.
“Everything collapsed overnight, and it was like a nightmare,” Arefi said. “Some of my friends back home, they’re saying a dog on the street has more rights than a woman.”
Read original SKY NEWS post HERE.