Unable to represent their national team since fleeing Afghanistan in 2021, the Afghan Women’s Team have finally made their return to the international stage at the FIFA Unites: Women’s Series 2025.
With the majority of the 23-player squad previously playing for Victory’s Afghan Women’s Team, it has been an incredible journey for this group of brave young women, who made their long-awaited first international appearance in Morocco.
Evacuated from Kabul airport with the help of a large group of supporters spread across the world, including former Socceroos captain and Human Rights activist Craig Foster, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Government, a group of 77 Afghan athletes and family members boarded a plane bound for Australia.
A close friend of Foster’s, Melbourne Victory Director of Football, John Didulica, recalls offering his support in the ongoing situation on behalf of the Club and the Board.
“Craig reached out to me at the end of 2021, saying that the girls were really keen to start playing football again.”
Heading into the 2022 season, the decision was made to create a team under the Victory banner, known as the Afghan Women’s Team (AWT).
Pushing hard for the AWT to have a competition to compete in, Victory’s efforts secured the team a spot in Football Victoria’s State League 4 ahead of the 2022 season, as Didulica explains.
“There was a lot of work to get it off the ground.
“There was the football part, where we worked closely with Football Victoria, who were so supportive, and then there was also the pastoral care of the players to ensure that they were actually okay in Melbourne.
“The PFA here in Melbourne provided great support around mental health and the provision of other services that the players needed outside of their football.”
Seeking out a coach to provide the necessary guidance and expertise to the group, Melbourne Victory Women’s Head Coach, Jeff Hopkins, happily took on the task of leading the AWT, fresh off winning the A-League Women’s Championship.
Going on to win a second-straight ALW Championship in 2021/22, Hopkins also helped the AWT secure promotion in their first year together, with Didulica full of praise.
“Symbolically, Jeff was very important.
“It was important that we showed how deeply we regarded the players, and what better way to do that than give them the most successful coach in the history of the A-League Women. To this day, Jeff and the players have a special bond.”
Back-to-back promotions would be secured in 2023, with the AWT reaching FV’s State League 2 after a thrilling play-off victory in extra time.
Although the AWT put together a solid first campaign in State League 2, the consensus ahead of the 2025 season was to allow players to join separate teams, with some aspiring to play in the NPL and others seeking to play more recreationally.
However, the Club and players remained committed to being reinstated by FIFA and advocating for a return to global competition.
Melbourne Victory AWT Captain, Fatima Yousufi, was invited to speak at a women’s football conference in Los Angeles, receiving the opportunity to explain and amplify the situation and the team’s desires to represent the national team to the likes of famous actress Natalie Portman, who personally took up the crusade with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
At a FIFA Executive meeting in early 2025, Infantino would announce that FIFA planned to establish the ‘Afghan Women United’ team and would host talent ID camps around the world, including in Sydney and at England’s renowned St. George’s Park, later revealing that the team would compete in the FIFA Unites tournament in Morocco.
Despite a 6-1 reverse in their first game back against Chad, it was Afghan Women United who opened the scoring through striker and former Victory AWT star, Manozh Noori.
Over the moon for the former Victory AWT players competing in the tournament, who are next set to face Tunisia and Libya respectively, Didulica applauded the group’s resilience and bravery.
“It’s almost unimaginable to appreciate what they’ve been through: having your country torn apart, leaving on a moment’s notice, going to a country that you may not have heard of before and relocating your whole life there.
“To have the strength and commitment to see through four years of training and playing not knowing when a chance would come, I’m just really happy for them and, hopefully, that brings them some peace and a sense of accomplishment.”
“It’s another great chapter in the role that football in Australia has played in helping marginalised people and communities feel a deeper sense of connection and gratitude to their new home”.
Didulica also expressed his pride in Victory’s decision to support the AWT.
“With the financial investment that we made, the Victory board, led by Caroline [Carnegie], the former Chairman [Anthony Di Pietro] and the late Mario Biasin, were fantastic.
“They were so supportive of us doing this, even though it was going to cost us a lot of money to keep the girls playing. We never put a time limit on it; it’s been a four-year journey from our part.
“It just shows that the investment made by the Club has paid dividends for these players; to keep them active, to keep them playing, to make sure that when the opportunity presented, they were ready to go.
“I think the whole Club – the members, the Board, the staff – should all take a huge amount of pride in giving the girls this opportunity.”
Melbourne Victory congratulates both the 13 former members of the AWT and all who have represented the team, displaying exceptional courage and bravery since arriving in Melbourne in 2021 and fulfilling their dream of representing Afghanistan on the national stage once again.
