A FIFA rule change allowing Afghanistan’s women footballers to compete in official matches marks a "historic moment” and recognition of a "basic human right,” former captain Khalida Popal told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday.

Under the new framework, Afghanistan will be eligible in the future to qualify for the Women’s World Cup and the Olympics, a development Popal described as the result of a "long fight.”

"I woke up this morning imagining a young Afghan girl opening her eyes and saying, ‘I’ve got the right to play.’ This is a basic human right,” she said from Copenhagen.

She added: "It’s fantastic news. It’s a historic moment we are still trying to absorb.”

The Afghanistan women’s national team was founded in 2007 in Kabul by Popal and fellow players.

After the Taliban retook power in 2021, about 100 players and family members were evacuated to Melbourne, Australia, while other team members relocated to Europe, Britain and the United States.

Women in Afghanistan are banned from participating in sport, and Taliban authorities have shut down clandestine exercise groups held behind closed doors.

A team of Afghan refugee players was formed across Europe and Australia, playing its first international matches at the FIFA Unites: Women’s Series last year in Morocco.

The team could not play in official competitions because FIFA rules previously required approval from the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan Football Federation.

The FIFA amendment this week allows official recognition of the Afghanistan team through an agreement between FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation.

It will also apply to other teams in exceptional circumstances that are unable to register a national side.

"It has been a long fight, but we are so grateful this history is made not only for the women of Afghanistan,” Popal said.

"No team, if they face a situation like us, should suffer what we have sacrificed and suffered.”

Afghanistan’s women footballers hope to build an internationally competitive team drawing on players scattered across the globe, she said.

"This announcement will allow us to find the talent within the diaspora,” she said.

The next step is for players to attend trials ahead of possible matches in June.

Afghanistan will not be eligible to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup but will be able to attempt to reach future editions.

"This is a powerful and unprecedented step in world sport,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said following the decision.

"FIFA has listened to these players as part of its responsibility to protect the right of every girl and woman to play football and to represent who they are.”

He added: "FIFA is proud to lead this historic initiative and to stand alongside these courageous players on and off the pitch.”

Scattered across the globe after fleeing Taliban rule, Afghanistan’s exiled women footballers are now daring to dream of uniting on the Olympic stage after being given a path back to international soccer.

Global governing body FIFA approved a rule change on Wednesday allowing them to play official international matches, building on the FIFA-backed Afghan Women United team set up last year for players living outside their homeland.

Goalkeeper Fatima Yousufi, now based in Melbourne with many of the exiles, said the players were overwhelmed when they heard the news.

"100% emotional. Tears of joy because we never stopped representing Afghanistan in our hearts,” the 24-year-old told Reuters in a video call.

"And now the world is finally recognizing that. But at the same time, many girls in Afghanistan still don’t have this opportunity, so this moment is also for them.”

Prior to the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan had 25 women players under contract, most of whom now live in Australia.

Afghan Women United is currently undergoing a selection process, with FIFA hosting regional selection camps in England and Australia.

While Afghanistan will not be eligible to qualify for the Women’s World Cup in Brazil next year, it could still compete in qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"Thinking about all those opportunities coming up, those events will be the greatest thing that could happen for the team,” Yousufi said, who plays for South Melbourne FC while studying.

"So hopefully we will make that happen.”

Harrowing exit

Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, women’s sport has effectively disappeared in Afghanistan, while access to education and employment opportunities for women has been severely curtailed.

Like a number of her teammates, Yousufi’s departure from Afghanistan was harrowing.

Carrying only a backpack with a few clothes and a bottle of water, she was evacuated on a plane from Kabul to Dubai with assistance from the Australian government.

She arrived in Australia in a daze, thinking about everything she had lost.

"Even our identity, we had to delete everything. We had to disappear from the public to be safe at the time,” she said.

"It was such a dangerous time, but I’m glad we made it out alive and we’re playing today.”

Yousufi has since been reunited with her parents and all of her siblings in Melbourne.

Life as an immigrant in Australia has been a major adjustment, but the footballing goals remain unchanged.

"In Afghanistan, I was dreaming of seeing the Afghanistan team in the World Cup,” she said.

"And I think if we make that happen, it will be the greatest thing that could happen for Afghanistan women’s soccer.”