How Afghanistan women’s football teammade it to Australia By Mark Simpson
Afghan women’s handball team. Photo: Afshin Jahan
Afghanistan’s first ever women’s football team are set to make their first trip Down Under. Now, more than three years after they were formed, they’re on their way to Australia for a friendly match against the national team under coach Babar Haydar.
They’re hoping to secure a place in the national team and also play in the AFC U19 Women’s Championships.
The team won’t just be travelling, but living in Australia.
Their stay has been planned months in advance and a house has been rented on the Gold Coast for them to spend eight months of the year living in a house with five other women.
For the men in the team, it’s going to be a different story.
That’s because the men will be living back in Afghanistan after the men’s team return to their home country, in order to train their women.
“Our team had been playing only in Kabul, and we weren’t really playing any matches,” said coach Babar Haydar.
“We had a good experience with a few games, but now we were in a situation where we’re trying to establish ourselves.
“We’re trying to find the right time for the team to play on the Gold Coast, and because of that, we can’t really afford to build new houses anywhere in the country for us to live.
“So we’re trying to rent a house on the Gold Coast for a month for our players to live in.”
The men’s training will start in the winter and hopefully they’ll play in the first match of the AFC U19 Women’s
