Afghan women refugees, Elaha Safdari and Nazia Ali, share their stories of finding strength and hope through football after fleeing Afghanistan. Despite facing numerous challenges, they advocate for women’s rights in their home country and aspire to represent Afghanistan on the world stage, urging FIFA to support their cause.
For Elaha Safdari, a goalkeeper with a powerful story, football has been more than just a game. "I felt quite lost," she recounts. "I didn’t know anyone, but little by little football gave me the strength and power to start again, to start from zero, to build, to keep going and to keep pushing myself forward." Her journey is a testament to the resilience and determination of Afghan women refugees who have found solace and purpose in the sport amidst displacement and uncertainty.
Safdari's journey began four years ago, when as a 17-year-old, she arrived in England as part of the Afghanistan women’s development team. The team was evacuated first to Pakistan then to the UK, following the US troop withdrawal and the Taliban's rise to power. Similarly, Nazia Ali, a dynamic midfielder for the senior Afghanistan side, sought refuge in Australia as a minor. For her, football was also a lifeline. "Football is my freedom," she passionately states. "When I play it gives me hope."
Their experiences, though geographically separated, share a common thread: football as a source of empowerment and a tool for advocacy. Safdari, who recently re-signed for Rotherham, and Ali, playing for Box Hill United in Melbourne while pursuing her studies, exemplify the dedication of these athletes. Ali's early life was marked by tragedy, with her father murdered by the Taliban when she was five and her mother suffering the same fate seven years later. Her mother had been a strong supporter of her football aspirations, and they shared a dream of her playing for the national team. Despite the immense personal loss, Ali channeled her grief into her game. "I kicked the ball as revenge against the Taliban, who took my parents from me," she says. "I found my sisterhood and community through football."
As the initial exiled communities have dispersed and players have integrated into new environments, the challenges have evolved. Safdari reflects on her arrival in England: "I was just a child and I had to grow up overnight. It was quite tough for me leaving everything behind, my family, my parents, my friends, my connections. Then being a new refugee in England wasn’t easy either because I couldn’t speak English, I had no friends and I had no clue about cultures and peoples."
Language barriers significantly impacted Safdari's opportunities. Despite positive feedback from club trials, her inability to communicate effectively as a goalkeeper hindered her progress. She recalls, "One of them in particular I was really excited about and I think the coaches were quite pleased with my performance. But I couldn’t speak English and I’m a goalkeeper. As a goalkeeper, I need to communicate more than a lot, and I think one of the reasons that they rejected me was because of the language barrier. It was so sad, when you see you have the talent but because of the language difficulties you cannot join the team." Racism, both overt and subtle, has also been a disheartening reality. She recounts instances where she felt overlooked or judged solely based on her refugee status, emphasizing the need for greater understanding and empathy.
Adding to her challenges, Safdari suffered a severe knee injury, tearing her ACL during a college game two years ago, sidelining her for an extended period. "I was away from football for more than two years. It’s only been six or seven months since I came back to playing because I was waiting a year for my operation and my recovery took another year. Recently I signed for Rotherham United FC and I’m back to playing. I love playing," she states, highlighting her unwavering commitment to the sport.
Despite the obstacles, both Safdari and Ali have persevered, driven by their love for football and their desire to advocate for women and girls in Afghanistan. Ali’s sisters have been able to join her. Safdari speaks to her parents every day. However, they are all haunted by their traumas and live with a powerful guilt of being the lucky ones.
“I have these emotions a lot,” Ali says. “When I first arrived in Australia I kept having flashbacks. We all felt really sad about our sisters in Afghanistan. It was really difficult when friends would text me and call me begging for help. I was really upset and quite depressed.” News from the country is also triggering. “If I see things on the news or social media the memories from Afghanistan come flooding back, in particular the men who killed my parents without me being able to see either of them one final time,” says Ali.
The recent talent identification camps organized by FIFA, aimed at forming an Afghan women’s refugee team, have provided a glimmer of hope. Safdari expresses immense gratitude for the coaching she received from Karen Bardsley, a former England goalkeeper, which offered her invaluable insights and skills development. The players are grateful for this team but ultimately their focus and their main goal is not a refugee team. They want to play for their national team and represent their country again.
“It was full of emotional love and joy, seeing some of my teammates after four years,” says Safdari. “I felt like I was finding pieces of myself again. It has been a wonderful step taken by Fifa, after four years of our hard work, advocacy and campaigning for the right to play as a team for our country. We are grateful for this team but ultimately our focus and our main goal is not a refugee team. We want to play for our national team and represent our country again.
“The Afghanistan men’s national team can play and represent their country but women cannot. Even our women’s cricket national team is still playing and representing our country, but not Afghans’ women’s national football team. We just want Fifa to be on our side and help us and just let us represent our country once again.” Ali says: “We are really grateful to Fifa but our fight doesn’t end till we are representing our country on the world stage and standing for our sisters in Afghanistan that can’t study, let alone take part in sports. We are still fighting for them and that doesn’t end.”
As these remarkable women continue to navigate their journeys, they carry the weight of responsibility to advocate for those left behind. They want to know what the future for the refugee team look like beyond their matches scheduled for October, what support will there be for players not selected and will they be able to try out again and is there any hope of recognition of an official national team, enabling them to truly represent their country again?
Safdari encapsulates their shared vision: "Football is my tool for raising my voice for all of them, my way of fighting and showing the world that we’re capable of doing amazing things."