MELBOURNE, Australia — Khalida Popal and a handful of members of the Afghanistan Women's Team (AWT) she helped found 16 years ago arrived at Federation Square just in time to watch the kickoff of Australia's opening game of the Women's World Cup last Thursday.
Surrounded by thousands who had braved the cold to gather in support of the Matildas, who were playing in Sydney in front of a record 75,784 fans, it was a moment emblematic of how the players had seen their lives change since they fled the Taliban's takeover of their homeland in August 2021.
Once, they had fled for their lives simply because they played football. Now, a nation in which they'd found sanctuary was uniting around a women's team, and its member's faces and names were emblazoned and celebrated across posters, billboards and murals all around them.
But as the eyes of the world descend upon Australia and New Zealand for the Women's World Cup, and various declarations of progress, defining moments, and the power of football to act as an agent of change are made, the AWT also has a request for the global footballing family: Don't forget about them. — Women's World Cup: Home | Squads | Fixtures | Podcast Two years on from their escape, the AWT wants to be like the Matildas.