FIFA to evacuate 100 refugees from Kabul, including footballers

At least 20 national footballers are among the 100 refugees who have been evacuated before FIFA Afghanistan, independent understand.

The group of women and girls mainly left Kabul on Thursday for a flight to the capital Doha.

The rescue was aided by FIFA by the Qatari government, which worked closely with them to secure the escape.

A source close to the operation said: “The group has now landed in Doha and is happy to be safe.

“It’s been a long negotiation since August to get the band out.”

It is understood that the football governing body will continue to try to ensure the safe passage of more players and their families Afghanistanwhich fell under the control of the Taliban in August.

It is not yet clear where the group, which includes players, support staff, coaches and others involved in promoting women’s football in Afghanistan, will go from Doha.

They obtained passports and official documents before leaving Kabul.

come next independent It was revealed in September that 32 girls from the national soccer team were stranded in Afghanistan.

The letter urged Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to grant the girls and their families temporary visas to allow them to enter Pakistan.

About 14,000 people, many of them British nationals, were evacuated from Kabul in August as part of Operation Pitting after the Afghan government fled advancing Taliban fighters, leaving the country under the control of extremist religious activists.

But there are thousands more left behind, and concerns have been expressed about the future of women in particular.

Last week, former British soldier Ben Slater, who had been held in Afghanistan, was released and transferred to Qatar with the return of high-ranking British diplomats. He was caught on the border with Pakistan while trying to evacuate 50 employees of the company he runs, as well as their families.

The Qatari government has reportedly helped facilitate the release of Slater, a former member of the Royal Military Police and general manager of an Afghanistan-based consultancy, Nomads Concept Group, after his arrest last month.