FIFA President calls on global football community to support Afghan refugees
World football body, FIFA’s, President, Gianni Infantino has urged the global football community and governments to come forward to address the escalating refugee and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
President Infantino was speaking during a visit to a compound hosting 150 Afghan refugees in Doha, who were in critical danger due to their connection with women’s sport.
He praised Qatar’s efforts to evacuate more than 70,000 people from Afghanistan since August.
Additionally, he thanked the Albanian government led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, which has agreed to take in and house the first group of evacuees, to provide football players and their families with temporary settlement and to help FIFA to evacuate many more.
“Qatar in particular and His Highness the Amir, they have to be thanked,” President Infantino said. “These girls and their families are here in a safe environment, at a compound built for the FIFA World Cup next year.”
“The first one who jumped in was Prime Minister Edi Rama from Albania; I want to thank him as well. But we need more countries, we need more governments, we need more football family members to help – not just to talk about solidarity or to talk about helping but to do it with real action,” he continued.
“We will continue to knock on all the doors around the world, and we hope that some will listen and hear this plea, this call for help, and will open the doors to these girls, who all have an amazing life story to tell.”
Among the evacuees staying at the compound are players from the senior, U-23, U-17 and U-15 Afghan women’s teams, together with their family members.
There are also female match officials, administrators and women’s football coaches within the group.
Afghanistan Football Federation General Secretary Fazil Mohammad Shahab, who was heavily involved in developing women’s football across the country, is also among the evacuees at the camp.
Lawyers who worked on the Keramuudin Karim abuse case, which resulted in a lifetime ban from football for the former AFF President, were also evacuated for their own safety, along with family members.
In addition to those connected to football, FIFA also assisted the Afghanistan National Basketball Federation and the organization Equality League with the evacuation of over 30 women associated with female basketball in Afghanistan, including 19 members of the women’s national and regional teams, all of whom are now also safely at the compound in Doha.
“We all often say that football gives hope,” said the FIFA President. “This is real life and to be able to give real hope to these girls and to their families, to enable them to build a new life, is something that you cannot explain in words. It is very emotional to be here. I am very, very happy that we have been able to help many football players, many girls to get out of Afghanistan and there is more to come.”
FIFA intends to bring more girls, women and others associated with women’s sport safely out of the country over the coming weeks with Qatar’s help.
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