Players Fighting for Change, From Afghanistan to the USA
One of football’s greatest assets is its potential to ‘change the world’.
It’s a phrase that plenty of us working in the game have heard a thousand times over and has quickly turned from a hopeful prospect to an often nauseating marketing ploy. Football has been burned by some of the exhausting toxicity that exists in the game and the belief in ‘changing the world’ has diminished somewhat over the years.
However, every now again there is a genuinely powerful movement or moment that emerges within football and creates meaningful change beyond the pitch.
It is those moments that restore faith in the football community and its changemakers - the players, clubs, and organisations that are trying to make a difference and truly use football as a force for good.
Across the global game, we often see women’s football and its athletes leading the way when it comes to collective action. That is not necessarily surprising given what history tells us about women’s movements and the fight for equality.
Just recently, we have seen players from the Canadian, French, Spanish and US national teams in conflict with their federations over a variety of issues including pay, budgets, governance and treatment by coaches.
It often feels like women’s footballers spend more time fighting for equality, justice and even the bare minimum than actually training or focusing on their performances on the pitch.
That burden takes its toll too, as was recently reflected in a brilliant interview between USA star Crystal Dunn and GQ. Dunn openly discussed the challenges of balancing being a top athlete, being a black woman, a mother and also the pressure of existing in a space where players are expected to battle for equality on top of everything else.
There isn’t a women’s footballer anywhere in the world who hasn’t had to fight for something, whether that is with their federation, club or even country.
The 2021 evacuation of the Afghanistan women’s national team during the Taliban’s takeover of the country was more than just a football mission. This was about rescuing refugees at the most desperate time as the Taliban gained control of the country and lives were at risk.
Khalida Popal, the team’s former captain, helped lead the evacuation of nearly 200 women from the country. Some of the senior team fled to Australia and have now built new lives and resumed playing football.
One of those women is Fatima Yousufi, the captain and goalkeeper of the Afghanistan Women’s National Team. She lives in Melbourne and is part of the Melbourne Victory Afghan Women’s Team.
Fatima is one of the storytellers in Goal Click’s new series in partnership with Hummel, a long-time supporter of the team.
In her story, Fatima talks about witnessing the “fall of Afghanistan”, how football gave her hope, an escape and ultimately changed her life. Through the game she has built a new community for herself in an unfamiliar country, challenged society and inspired young girls.
Khalida’s bravery provided not just a vital escape route for women footballers in Afghanistan, but also a platform for their voices. She empowered Fatima and the chain reaction has continued. Fatima and her teammates continue to try and support women that are still in Afghanistan living under the Taliban.
“We feel a responsibility for our Afghan sisters who are struggling to achieve their dreams, not only in sport but also in other areas like education and basic human rights.”
There are voices that are so often disregarded in football and those voices are the ones that can force change and need to be given a platform. In women’s football, those important stories and viewpoints are often the ones that literally change the world. When listened to, they fight for more than just immediate improvements, they fight for future generations.
Hummel has been providing kit for the Afghanistan Women’s National Team and aid for their journey in Australia. To support the team and their fight for equality, you can buy their jersey here.
To read more first-person perspectives on life, football and community, visit goal-click.com.
