For the first time since being forced to flee their country in August, the Afghan women's soccer team gathered under the flag of their country and began training, the Guardian reported. The team wants to convince FIFA that their country's women should not be left out of the World Cup.

Early in the morning in Melbourne with good weather, 18 Afghan footballers and a referee went to the field at Darbin International Sports Center.

The session included warm-ups, training sessions and team talks in professional football venues around the world, but what made the training different was the sense of joy that was present in the show.

This was the first time that members of the team were able to train together after fleeing the Taliban.

In Kabul, the Taliban were more likely to target them because they were women footballers.
The security of the members of the women's national team could not be guaranteed after the Taliban took control of the country and reasserted their strict interpretation of Sharia law.
But there were no such threats during their training session in Melbourne on Saturday.
They no longer cared to think what awaited us if we went home.

The training marks the beginning of a new season led by Khaleda Popolzi, the former captain of the national women's soccer team and Fati, the current player of the team.
They plan to return to competitive football in their new home in Australia in the next few months.

Source: The Guardian newspaper

https://amp.theguardian.com/football/2022/feb/05/afghanistan-womens-football-team-reunite-with-hopes-of-competing-in-australia