Afghanistan

Nickname(s)	The Lionesses of Afghanistan (أسود أنثى أفغانستان)
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	CAFA (Central Asia)
Top scorer	Marjan Haydaree (5)
FIFA code	AFG
Firstcolours Secondcolours
FIFA ranking
Current	NR (7 August 2025)[1]
Highest	106 (December 2017 – March 2018)
Lowest	160 (December 2021)
First international
Nepal 13–0Afghanistan  (Cox's Bazar,Bangladesh;14 December 2010)[2]
Last international
Afghanistan 0–5Tajikistan  (Tashkent,Uzbekistan; 1 December 2018)
Biggest win
Libya 0–7Afghanistan  (Berrechid,Morocco;1 November 2025)
Biggest defeat
Uzbekistan 20–0Afghanistan  (Tashkent,Uzbekistan;23 November 2018)
CAFA Championship
Appearances	1 (first in2018)
Best result	Group stage (2018)
SAFF Championship
Appearances	4 (first in2010)
Best result	Semi-finals (2012)

TheAfghanistan women's national football team (Dari: تیم ملی فوتبال زنان افغانستان) was the women's national team ofAfghanistan sanctioned by theAfghanistan Football Federation (AFF) until women's football was banned in their home country by theTaliban in 2021.

In May 2025, FIFA sanctioned the creation of an Afghan women's refugee team later namedAfghan Women United to represent theAfghan diaspora.

The team was formed in 2007 by theAfghanistan National Olympic Committee with players drawn from among selected school girls inKabul.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]}

In an attempt to improve the quality ofwomen's football, the team was sent toGermany in 2008 to hold a preparation camp. Later in the year, the Afghan team traveled toJordan to participate in the Islamic Countries Women's Football Tournament.^[9]

In May 2010, Danish sports brandHummel International sponsored male, female and youth teams of Afghanistan.^[10]

The2010 SAFF Women's Championship inBangladesh marked the first appearance of Afghanistan in a major international tournament. In it, they played their first official game, againstNepal, where they were defeated by an overwhelming 13–0 scoreline.^[11]

2016 marked a big year for the Afghanistan Women's National Team as they received support from the Afghanistan Football Federation and hired new coaching staff, comprising head coachKelly Lindsey, assistant coachHaley Carter, and program directorKhalida Popal.^[12]

In November 2018, male staff of theAfghanistan Football Federation were accused of sexual and physical abuse of Afghanistan women's players.^[13] The alleged abusers included the federation's president, Keramuudin Karim.^[14]

In August 2021, following the second takeover of the country by theTaliban, former team captainKhalida 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.^[15] 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".^[16][17]

The national team also withdrew from the2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers.^[18]

In March 2022, the national team was admitted intoFootball Victoria's state league:^[19] they were placed in State League 4 West, the seventh tier of Australian women's football and sixth in the Victorian structure, asMelbourne Victory FC AWT.^[20] They were promoted after both the 2022 and 2023 seasons and are playing in State League 2 for 2024.^[21]

In May 2022, the team's development side which were relocated to the UK following the fall of Kabul played a friendly againstnon-FIFA team Surrey inDorking.^[22][23]

Afghanistan was included in the draw in January 2023 for the2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.^[24] The CAFF released a statement inviting players based outside the country to play for the women's national team. However, Afghanistan would be withdrawn by the AFC. The statement, which was by an individual based in Albania who was still accredited as the media director of the AFF, was taken down by the federation. The AFF released another statement that it would not allow any players based abroad to represent the country or intend to organize a women's national team at all due to the laws of the Taliban.^[25]

In May 2025, FIFA sanctioned the creation of a Afghanistan women's refugee team which would be allowed to compete in official tournaments. The program was due to run for one year under a pilot phase.^[26][27]Pauline Hamill was appointed as head coach and was tasked to hold three identification camps prior to playing FIFA-approved friendlies in late 2025.^[28] Reportedly they were still unable to compete in international competitions.^[29][30]

The Afghanistan refugee team, also known as Afghan Women United, made their debut in the four-nation "FIFA Unites: Women's Series" friendly tournament, originally scheduled to be held in the United Arab Emirates.^[31] However, the UAE refused to issue visas to the Afghan players and the tournament was moved to Morocco.^[32][33]

Afghanistan  v Chad

26 October 2025 (2025-10-26)FIFA Unites: Women's Series	Afghanistan	1–6	Chad	Berrechid,Morocco
17:00 UTC+1	Noori 4' (pen.)		Djoïtana 44' Abdoulaye 53' Dallou 60',73' Larkingam 62',81'	Stadium:Berrechid Municipal Stadium

Tunisia  v Afghanistan

29 October 2025 (2025-10-29)FIFA Unites: Women's Series	Tunisia	4–0	Afghanistan	Berrechid,Morocco
20:00 UTC+1	Marzouki 7' Mejri 11' Abbassi 68' Ammar 74'			Stadium:Berrechid Municipal Stadium

Libya  v Afghanistan

1 November 2025 (2025-11-01)FIFA Unites: Women's Series	Libya	0–7	Afghanistan	Berrechid,Morocco
17:00 UTC+1			Ali 4',12' Amini 18' (pen.) N. Mohammadi 54' Noori 64' S. Mohammadi 70' Haidari 83'	Stadium:Berrechid Municipal Stadium

Name	Period	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	Winning %
Abdul Saboor Walizada	2010–2013	10	3	2	5	30%
Faqir Zada	2014	3	0	0	3	0%
Amin Amini	2015	0	0	0	0	0%
Kelly Lindsey	2016–2017	2	0	0	2	0%
Ali Jawad Ataiee	2018–2021	6	0	0	6	0%

The following 23 players were named to the squad for the FIFA-sanctioned four-team tournament inMorocco from 26 October to 1 November 2025.^[34]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Montaha Moslih				Melbourne Victory AWT
2	2DF	Bahara Samimi				Melbourne Victory AWT
3	2DF	Khursand Azizi				Melbourne Victory AWT
4		Susan Khojasia
5	2DF	Mursal Sadat				Melbourne Victory AWT
6	3MF	Mona Amini
7	3MF	Sevin Azimi				Rossington Main
8	3MF	Nazia Ali
9	4FW	Manozh Noori	(2003-03-11)11 March 2003 (age 22)			Melbourne Victory AWT
10		Fatema Haidari				Chiesanuova 1975 ASD
11	4FW	Nilab Mohammadi				Melbourne Victory AWT
12	1GK	Fatima Yousufi	(2002-01-14)14 January 2002 (age 23)			Melbourne Victory AWT
13	2DF	Kereshma Abasi		4	0	Melbourne Victory AWT
14	2DF	Najma Arefi
15	3MF	Bahara Kohistani				Melbourne Victory AWT
16		Zainab Mozaffari				Retford FC Ladies
17	2DF	Mina Ahmadi				Melbourne Victory AWT
18	1GK	Elaha Safdari				Rotherham United
19		Maryam Karimyar				Famalicão
20		Fatema Urfani				Ayenda FC
21		Azi Zada
22		Sosan Mohammadi
23	3MF	Bibi Noori				Melbourne Victory AWT

FIFA Women's World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1991 to2007	Did not exist									Did not exist
2011 to2019	Did not enter									Did not enter
2023	Withdrew from qualification									ViaAFC Women's Asian Cup
2027	Did not enter									Did not enter
2031	To be determined									To be determined
2035
Total	—	0/10	—	—	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—	—

Summer Olympics record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1996 to2008	Did not exist									Did not exist
2012 to2020	Did not enter									Did not enter
2024	Withdrew from qualification									Withdrew
2028	Did not enter									Did not enter
Total	—	0/8	—	—	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—	—

AFC Women's Asian Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1975 to2010	Did not exist									Did not exist
2014 to2018	Did not enter									Did not enter
2022	Withdrew from qualification									Withdrew
2026	Did not enter									Did not enter
2029	To be determined									To be determined
Total	—	0/21	—	—	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—	—

CAFA Women's Championship record
Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA	GD
2018	Group stage	4	0	0	4	0	32	−32
2022	Did not enter
Total	1/2	4	0	0	4	0	32	−32

*Denotes draws includes knockout matches decided onpenalty kicks.

SAFF Women's Championship record
Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA	GD
2010	Group stage	3	0	1	2	2	18	−16
2012	Semi-final	4	1	1	2	6	19	−13
2014	Group stage	3	0	0	3	1	19	−18
2016	Group stage	2	0	0	2	1	11	−10
Total	4/7	12	1	2	9	10	67	−57

*Denotes draws includes knockout matches decided onpenalty kicks.

As of 1 November 2025

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W%	Confederation
Bangladesh	2	0	0	2	1	12	−13	0	AFC
Chad	1	0	0	1	1	6	−5	0	CAF
India	3	0	0	3	1	28	−27	0	AFC
Iran	1	0	0	1	0	6	−6	0	AFC
Jordan	2	0	0	2	0	11	−11	0	AFC
Kazakhstan	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	0	UEFA
Kyrgyzstan	2	1	0	1	1	1	0	50	AFC
Libya	1	1	0	0	7	0	+7	0	CAF
Maldives	3	0	2	1	3	4	−1	0	AFC
Nepal	2	0	0	2	1	20	−19	0	AFC
Pakistan	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1	50	AFC
Qatar	2	1	0	1	2	5	−3	50	AFC
Tajikistan	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5	0	AFC
Tunisia	1	0	0	1	0	4	−4	0	CAF
Uzbekistan	1	0	0	1	0	20	−20	0	AFC
Total	25	4	2	19	21	127	−106	16	—

• FIFA Unites Women's Series

Third Place: 2025

• Afghanistan men's national football team
• Sport in Afghanistan
  • Football in Afghanistan
    • Women's football in Afghanistan

• Afghanistan women's national football team onTwitter

• Afghanistan women's national football team
• Afghanistan women's national football teams
• Asian women's national association football teams
• Former national association football teams in Asia
• 2007 establishments in Afghanistan
• National sports teams established in 2007
• 2021 disestablishments in Afghanistan

• Articles with short description
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