The Afghanistan women's national football team (Dari: تیم ملی فوتبال زنان افغانستان) was the women's national team of Afghanistan and was controlled by the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) until the fall of Kabul in 2021. They played the majority of their home games at the Ghazi National Olympic Stadium in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
Due to the conditions in Afghanistan and the controversy surrounding the female Muslim football teams, it has been difficult for the AFF to obtain long-term sponsorship for the team. In May 2010, Danish sports brand Hummel International signed up the male, female and youth teams of Afghanistan.[4]
In December 2010, 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 Federation.
The team was formed in 2007 by the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee with players taken from selected school girls in Kabul.[5][6][7][8][9][10] 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 .[11] 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]
2010 SAFF Women's 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 0-13 scoreline. They then faced their neighboring rivals, Pakistan, and lost by the score of 0–3. 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 SAFF Women's 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. 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 scored two goals in the match. The last group phase game was against Nepal, and ended in a heavy defeat of 1–7. 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 0–11 defeat. Thus, Afghanistan finished the tournament as one of the Semi-Final losers.
2014 SAFF Women's 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 1–6 defeat against Bangladesh. The goal was scored by Marjan Haydaree. They lost the second match 0–1 against Maldives. Their third and last encounter ended in a crushing 0–12 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.[12] The team also hired fitness coach John De Witt, PhD and team physio Joelle Muro, DPT.
The team also had a partnership with 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.[13] During the tournament the team lost to India (27 December 2016, lost 1–5, goal scorer was Farkhunda Muhtaj in the 88th minute) and Bangladesh (29 December, lost 0–6).
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.[14] The allegations included the Federation's president, Keramuudin Karim.[15]
2021 Exodus[]
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.[16] 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".[17]
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.
Kit[]
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.
(20 August 2021)[2]
Nepal 13–0 Afghanistan 
Pakistan 0–4 Afghanistan 
Uzbekistan 20–0 Afghanistan 
Hummel
Haley Carter
?
Angeviolet Hiroshima 
Ettifaq FC 
Jordan
1991 to 
2019
2023
1975 to 
2012
