U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) and U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) led a bipartisan group of their colleagues in urging FIFA to recognize the exiled Afghanistan Women’s National Football Team (AWT).
After the Taliban regained national control in Afghanistan in 2021, the women of AWT who represented their country were forced to flee their homes when women were denied basic freedoms, including the ability to play sports. The players on the women’s team have applied for asylum in foreign countries, namely Australia, and are not allowed to play for their country on the world stage, the letter said.
Sen. Young and Rep. Bacon, who is a co-chair of the Congressional Soccer Caucus, along with their colleagues, asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino in an Aug. 10 letter to allow the women’s team to represent their country without returning to the brutality of Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
“The women of the AWT are in a unique situation, and we hope one day they can return to their homeland to play the sport without restrictions. Until then, they should be afforded the opportunity to represent their country away from home,” stated the letter, which was also signed by U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), along with other members.