PESHAWAR: Members of Afghanistan women’s youth development football squad finally reached Britain safely from Pakistan along with their families with the help of American media personality Kim Kardashian and British football club Leeds United.
Media reports said that a total of 130 people, including 30 young players and their coaches, arrived in London on a chartered plane sponsored by Kardashian. The team has arrived in Pakistan on 15 September via Torkham border crossing. They were waiting in a local hotel in Pakistan for support to be evacuated to any western country.
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After the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan on 15 August, a large number of women politicians, artists and athletes have escaped the country, claiming that the Taliban would not allowed them to participate in sports or play music. “Great mission accomplished,” Former captain of the Afghan women’s national football team, Khaleda Popal, twitted. “The team landed safely in UK. Now, time to get as much support as possible to help them in their resettlement process.”
The Afghan women’s national football team has fled Afghanistan with the help of Australia, while the youth football team was provided asylum in Portugal.
The team had received British visas but was unable to get flights to the United Kingdom and was facing difficulties with the expiration of his Pakistani visa. And finally they were approached American reality TV star Kim Kardashian to pay for the chartered plane and thus the last obstacle to the players’ stay in the UK was addressed.
The team members had called on the British government for political asylum and support in travel expenditure. “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 had 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.