Afghanistan women's national football team

Afghanistan
افغانستان
Nickname(s) The Lions of Afghanistan
(شیران خراسان )
Association Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF)
Confederation AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation CAFF (Central Asia)
Head coach Kelly Lindsey
Captain Shabnam Mobarez
Most caps Unknown
Top scorer Marjan Haydaree (5)
Home stadium Ghazi Stadium
FIFA code AFG
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 116 Decrease 7 (23 June 2017)
Highest 108 (December 2013)
Lowest 138 (September 2015)
First international
   Nepal 13–0 Afghanistan 
(Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh; 14 December 2010) [1]
Biggest win
 Pakistan 0–4 Afghanistan 
(Colombo, Sri Lanka; 10 September 2012)
Biggest defeat
   Nepal 13–0 Afghanistan 
(Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh; 14 December 2010)

The Afghanistan women's national football team (Dari: تیم ملی فوتبال زنان افغانستان) is the women's national team of Afghanistan and is controlled by the Afghanistan Football Federation. They play the majority of their home games at the Ghazi National Olympic Stadium in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.

Due to the conditions in Afghanistan and the controversy surrounding the female Muslim football teams, it has been difficult for the Afghanistan Football Federation to obtain long-term sponsorship. In May 2010, Danish sports brand Hummel International signed up the male, female and youth teams of Afghanistan.[2]

Currently, the Afghan team is coached by Kelly Lindsey, who is assisted by Haley Carter. Both of these women partner with former Afghanistan Women's National Team member Khalida Popal. The team is currently preparing for the 2016 SAFF Women's Championship that will be held in India this November. The official roster for this tournament has not been announced. There are around 25 women's football teams around the country and the Football Federation considers to hold the first national football tournament in the country this year.

In December 2010, the team played its first official international game, against Nepal, during the South Asian Football Federation Women's Championships in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. On 16 February 2012 they completed a 2–0 win against Qatar, their first official international victory. On 10 June 2014 Afghanistan Football Federation moved from South Asian Football Federation to Central Asian Football Federation.

History

Early History

The team was formed in 2007 by the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee with players taken from selected school girls in Kabul.[3][4][5][6][7][8] That year, the team played for the first time against the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) women's side, which Afghanistan won 5–0. In 2008, the team traveled to Pakistan to participate in the second national tournament of Pakistan. There they won their group stage and semi-final games but lost to Baluchistan in the final.

In an attempt to improve the quality of women's football, the team was sent to Germany in 2008 to hold a preparation camp. Later in the year, the Afghan team traveled to Jordan to participate in the Islamic Countries Women's Football Tournament.[9] However, the results this time were less favourable as they faced established and more experienced teams for the first time. Afghanistan lost all its games by at least 17 goals.

In February 2009, the team went to Jordan again, but this time for a training camp. The Netherlands' Women's Football Federation has shown interest in helping the team and has invited them for a training camp in Netherlands. In October 2010 the team played a friendly match against ISAF on the NATO ground in Kabul. The Afghans won 1–0.

2010 SAFF Women's Championship

The 2010 SAFF Women's Championship in Bangladesh marked the first appearance of Afghanistan in a major international tournament. In it, they played their first official game, against Nepal, in where they were defeated by an overwhelming 13–0. Then, they faced their neighboring rivals, Pakistan, and lost by the score of 3–0. In their last game, they faced Maldives, which ended with the unequal score of 2–2. Afghanistan was subsequently eliminated of the tournament with only one point.

2012 SAFF Women's Championship

The 2012 SAFF Women's Championship in Sri Lanka was the second time that Afghanistan disputed an international tournament. They faced Maldives in their first game and drew 1–1. Diba Naweed scored the team's only goal in that match. The following game with Pakistan marked Afghanistan's second win, with an abundant 4–0. Hailai Arghandiwal and Marjan Haydaree scored one goal each, while Shabnam Rohin scored two goals in the match. The last group phase game was against Nepal, who ended in a heavy defeat of 7–1. The only goal was scored by Marjan Haydaree. Afghanistan advanced to the Semi-Finals after being placed second in the group. The match of the Semi-Finals was with India, which ended with a crushing defeat of 11–0. Thus, Afghanistan ended as one of the Semi-Final losers.

2014 SAFF Women's Championship

The 2014 SAFF Women's Championship in Pakistan was the third time that Afghanistan disputed an international tournament. Their first game ended in a defeat of 6–1 against Bangladesh. The goal was scored by Marjan Haydaree. They lost the second match against Maldives by 1–0. Their third and last encounter ended in a crushing defeat of 12–0 against India. Afghanistan were eliminated of the tournament with 0 points. Also, it's Afghanistan's worst participation in the SAFF Women's Championship.

2016 Efforts

2016 marks a big year for the Afghanistan Women's National Team as they have received support from the Afghanistan Football Federation and hired a new coaching staff consisting of head coach Kelly Lindsey, assistant coach Haley Carter, and program director Khalida Popal.[10] The team has also hired fitness coach John De Witt, PhD and team physio Joelle Muro, DPT.

Along with these hires, the team is preparing for the 2016 SAFF Women's Championship to be held in India this December.

The team also has a partnership with Diehard Scarves who are producing official Afghanistan Women's National Team Supporter Scarves. A portion of the proceeds from these sales go to the team in their fundraising efforts in preparation for the 2016 SAFF Women's Championship.[11]

The team won Tournament AFSO 2016.

Kit

In 2011 the Afghanistan Football Federation had signed a 4-year contract with Hummel, to provide both the Men's and the Women's National Team for all of the sportswear from 2011 till 2015. On 6 March 2015, the Afghan Football Federation signed a new 4-year contract with hummel till 2019.

In 2016, Hummel designed a ground-breaking uniform for the Afghanistan Women's National Team which included an integrated hijab. This provides more flexibility with movements that the players can use while wearing their uniforms.

Period Kit provider
2009–2019 DenmarkHummel

Competition Records

Tournament AFSO: Winner 2016

World Cup record

World Cup Finals
Year Result Position GP W D* L GF GA GD
China 1991 Did Not Enter
Sweden 1995
United States 1999
United States 2003
China 2007
Germany 2011
Canada 2015
France 2019
Total0/8--------
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

AFC Women's Asian Cup record

Women's Asian Cup
Year Result GP W D* L GF GA GD
Hong Kong1975 Did Not Enter
Taiwan1977
India1979
Hong Kong1981
Thailand1983
Hong Kong1986
Hong Kong1989
Japan1991
Malaysia1993
Malaysia1995
China1997
Philippines1999
Chinese Taipei2001
Thailand2003
Australia2006
Vietnam2008
China2010
Vietnam2014
Total0/18-------
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

SAFF Championship record

SAFF Championship
Year Result GP W D* L GF GA GD
Bangladesh2010Group Stage3012218−16
Sri Lanka2012Semi-Finals4112619−13
Pakistan2014Group Stage3003119−18
India2016 To Be Determined
Total4/410127956−47
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Recent results and schedule

2010

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Record against other countries

Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD
Saudi Arabia Ettifaq FC 1 1 0 0 5 3 +2
Iran Ariya FC 1 1 0 0 9 0 +9
Mexico Selinas FC 2 2 0 0 3 1 +2
United States Palo Alto 98G 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2
Japan Angeviolet Hiroshima 1 0 0 1 0 14 −14
 Bangladesh 1 0 0 1 1 6 −5
 India 2 0 0 2 0 23 −23
 Kazakhstan 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
 Kyrgyzstan 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
 Maldives 3 0 2 1 3 4 −1
   Nepal 2 0 0 2 1 20 −19
 Pakistan 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1
 Qatar 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
Total 19 8 2 9 32 77 −45

Personnel

Current Technical Staff

Position Name
Head Coach United States Kelly Lindsey
Assistant Coach United States Haley Carter
Program Director Afghanistan Khalida Popal
Fitness Coach United States John De Witt
Physiotherapist United States Joelle Muro

Home stadium

The major football matches in Afghanistan are held at the Afghan Football Federation Stadium (popularly known as the Ghazi Stadium) in Kabul. It was built during the reign of King Amanullah Khan in 1923. The stadium has a capacity of around 25,000 people.

Managers

Manager Period Record
MatchesWonDrawLostGoalsWin %
Afghanistan Abdul Saboor Walizada2010–20131042413–3740%
Afghanistan Faqir Zada201430031–190%
Afghanistan Amin Amini201510010–140%
United States Kelly Lindsey 2016–440118–780%
1982932–7742,10%

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Afghanistan: Fixtures and Results". Fifa.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-11. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  2. ↑ Johannsen, Alissa (2011-07-26). "Afghanistan Women: Kicking and Dreaming | Women's Health Magazine". Womenshealthmag.com. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  3. ↑ Marzban, Omid (2007-09-13). "Afghanistan: Once Whipped By Taliban, Girl Makes Mark As Soccer Star". Rferl.org. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  4. ↑ "The Afghan national womens soccer team | Journal Reporter". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  5. ↑ Nick Paton Walsh (2011-06-08). "Afghan women footballers risk death threats, disapproval – CNN". Articles.cnn.com. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  6. ↑ "BBC News – Women's football in Afghanistan". Bbc.co.uk. 2010-11-17. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  7. ↑ "For a Women’s Soccer Team, Competing Is a Victory". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-09-19. (Subscription required (help)).
  8. ↑ "NATO in Afghanistan – The Afghan ladies national football team". YouTube. 2011-12-05. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  9. ↑ "Bend It in Baden-Württemberg: Afghan Women Footballers Hone Their Skills in Stuttgart – SPIEGEL ONLINE". Spiegel.de. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  10. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/mar/15/khalida-popal-afghanistan-womens-football-donald-trump
  11. ↑ "Afghanistan Women's National Team Efforts". Girl Power. Girl Power Organization. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
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