Afghan Goalkeeper’s Escape From Kabul Was Supposed to Be the Hardest Part

Her bank account balance bottomed out, once again, several months ago after her older brother, Khaliqyar, bought a car. She began working two jobs to help pay that bill.

Her first job was in the IT department at a financial services company that is a sponsor for the Afghan national team, now that the team plays for the Melbourne Victory professional soccer club in a state league in Australia. From that IT job, Fati would go straight to her second job, an overnight shift at a pizza restaurant, preparing food and washing dishes until 4 a.m.

The schedule was so grueling that Fati often had headaches and could hardly keep her eyes open, and began to oversleep and miss days at her office job. So when Khaliqyar landed a steady job at a painting company, she quit the pizza place.

Now, Fati is able to focus on her soccer training and leadership activities, which include being a spokeswoman for her national team, a squad that is frustrated because it hasn’t been able to play any international matches.

The Afghanistan Football Federation deactivated the women’s national team program when the players left the country, a spokesman there said, and FIFA, the global governing body of the sport, has ignored the team’s request to be reinstated.

“I’m trying not to cry about the team anymore, but it’s hard,” she said. “I just want to turn on my Afghani mode and work hard to be a good goalkeeper and keep dreaming about playing in the World Cup someday.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/31/sports/soccer/afghan-goalkeeper-escape-australia.html