PESHAWAR: The Afghan junior female football team has called on the British government for political asylum, claiming that they are unable to play the sport in Afghanistan and their lives are under threats from extremists.
The women’s football team and their families are staying in a hotel in Lahore, Punjab after leaving the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. They will have to leave Pakistan after the expiration of their emergency visas on on October 12. The Rocket Foundation is providing financial support to a total of 35 players between the ages of 13 and 19, 94 coaches and their families.
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“All we know is that we can’t go back to Afghanistan,” Narges, a member of the team, told the media. “If you United Kingdom provides us asylum, we will be safe.” She requested aid agencies and foreign governments to help them find host country. “If we get a host, we will get a new life and there will be good football players in the future,” she hoped.
Afghanistan’s senior football team has availed shelter in Australia, but the junior team is still struggling to get out of Afghanistan. Players say they want to study and play football. “The Taliban were violent,” Nargis said, “They have threatened us that if we cross the border back, they will kill us.” She lamented that currently, there is no country that recognises and protect them as refugees.
Nagirs said that they were playing football in such a difficult situation in Afghanistan as we really loved football. “We want the British government to issue them visas,” said Anne Marie Gill, head of the Rocket Foundation. “If we can’t find a host country for them, they will be taken back to their home country – Afghanistan.”