Soccer

Fifa helps evacuate almost 100 people from Afghanistan

Group included players and coaches from women’s team deemed at ‘highest risk’

An Afghanistan flag is flown at a demonstration in Toulouse. Photo: Getty Images

Fri Oct 15 2021 - 11:26

Fifa has assisted in the evacuation of almost 100 refugees from Afghanistan.

The group, made up mainly of women and girls, included players and coaches from the country’s women’s national football team.

All those evacuated were individuals deemed to be at the “highest risk” in a country which has been under the control of the Taliban since August.

The group is understood to have flown out of Afghanistan on Thursday.

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The sport’s world governing body said it had received assistance in the evacuation effort from the government of Qatar, the country which will host next year’s men’s World Cup.

“Fifa would like to express its sincere thanks to the government of Qatar for its support facilitating extensive discussions and for ensuring the safe passage of these individuals, deemed to have been at the highest risk, on to a Qatar Airways charter flight from Kabul, Afghanistan to Doha, Qatar,” a Fifa statement said.

“The Fifa leadership has been closely co-ordinating with the government of Qatar since August on the evacuation of the group, and will continue to work closely on the safe evacuation of further members of the sporting family in the future.”

It’s understood that Fifa is assisting individuals with links to other sports as well as football, in a country where the future of women’s sport looks bleak.

Taliban officials were quoted last month saying women and girls would be banned from playing sport, saying it was “not necessary”.

Afghanistan’s women’s team withdrew from Asian Cup qualification in Tajikistan last month. Performance in the Asian Cup finals will dictate which teams from the continent qualify for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Female players from around the world, including Chelsea’s Norway international Maren Mjelde, are contributing to a fund established by world players’ union FIFPRO to support footballers evacuated from Afghanistan.