Afghanistan women's national football team

Afghanistan
افغانستان

Association	Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF)
Sub-confederation	CAFF (Central Asia)
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Head coach	Abdul Saboor Walizada
Captain	Zahra Mahmoodi
Top scorer	Marjan Haydaree (5)
Home stadium	Ghazi Stadium
FIFA code	AFG
FIFA ranking	133 8[1]
Highest FIFA ranking	108 (December 2013)
Lowest FIFA ranking	136 (December 2011)
First international
Nepal 13–0 Afghanistan  (Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh; 14 December 2010) [2]
Biggest win
Pakistan 0–4 Afghanistan  (Colombo, Sri Lanka; 10 September 2012)
Biggest defeat
Nepal 13–0 Afghanistan  (Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh; 14 December 2010)

The Afghanistan women's national football team is the women's national team of Afghanistan and is controlled by the Afghanistan Football Federation. They play the majority of their home games at the Ghazi National Olympic Stadium in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.

Due to the conditions in Afghanistan and the controversy surrounding the female Muslim football teams, it has been difficult for the Afghanistan Football Federation to obtain long-term sponsorship. In May 2010, Danish sports brand Hummel International signed up the male, female and youth teams of Afghanistan.^[3]

Currently, the Afghan team has 22 members coached by Abdul Saboor Walizada. There are around 25 women's football teams around the country and the Football Federation considers to hold the first national football tournament in the country this year. In December 2010, the team played its first official international game, against Nepal, during the South Asian Football Federation Women's Championships in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. On 16 February 2012 they completed a 2–0 win against Qatar, their first official international victory. On 10 June 2014 Afghanistan Football Federation moved from South Asian Football Federation to Central Asian Football Federation.

History

The team was formed in 2007 by the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee with players taken from selected school girls in Kabul.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]} That year, the team played for the first time against the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) women's side, which Afghanistan won 5–0. In 2008, the team traveled to Pakistan to participate in the second national tournament of Pakistan. There they won their group stage and semi-final games but lost to Baluchistan in the final.

In an attempt to improve the quality of women's football, the team was sent to Germany in 2008 to hold a preparation camp. Later in the year, the Afghan team traveled to Jordan to participate in the Islamic Countries Women's Football Tournament.^[10] However, the results this time were less favourable as they faced established and more experienced teams for the first time. Afghanistan lost all its games by at least 17 goals.

In February 2009, the team went to Jordan again, but this time for a training camp. The Netherlands' Women's Football Federation has shown interest in helping the team and has invited them for a training camp in Netherlands. In October 2010 the team played a friendly match against ISAF on the NATO ground in Kabul. The Afghans won 1–0.

2010 SAFF Women's Championship

The 2010 SAFF Women's Championship in Bangladesh marked the first appearance of Afghanistan in a major international tournament. In it, they played their first official game, against Nepal, in where they were defeated by an overwhelming 13–0. Then, they faced their neighboring rivals, Pakistan, and lost by the score of 3–0. In their last game, they faced Maldives, which ended with the unequal score of 2–2. Afghanistan was subsequently eliminated of the tournament with only one point.

2012 SAFF Women's Championship

The 2012 SAFF Women's Championship in Sri Lanka was the second time that Afghanistan disputed an international tournament. They faced Maldives in their first game and drew 1-1. Diba Naweed scored the team's only goal in that match. The following game with Pakistan marked Afghanistan's second win, with an abundant 4–0. Hailai Arghandiwal and Marjan Haydaree scored one goal each, while Shabnam Rohin scored two goals in the match. The last group phase game was against Nepal, who ended in a heavy defeat of 7–1. The only goal was scored by Marjan Haydaree. Afghanistan advanced to the Semi-Finals after being placed second in the group. The match of the Semi-Finals was with India, which ended with a crushing defeat of 11–0. Thus, Afghanistan ended as one of the Semi-Final losers.

2014 SAFF Women's Championship

The 2014 SAFF Women's Championship in Pakistan was the third time that Afghanistan disputed an international tournament. Their first game ended in a defeat of 6–1 against Bangladesh. The goal was scored by Marjan Haydaree. They lost the second match against Maldives by 1–0. Their third and last encounter ended in a crushing defeat of 12–0 against India. Afghanistan were eliminated of the tournament with 0 points. Also, it's Afghanistan's worst participation in the SAFF Women's Championship and the last, because the federation moved to the Central Asian Football Federation.

Kit

In 2010 the Afghanistan Football Federation had signed a 5-year contract, with Danish sports brand Hummel, to sponsor both the Men's National Team and the Women's National Team from 2010 till 2015.

Badge

• Afghanistan Women's National Football Team Old badge
  (2000–2014)

Competition Records

World Cup record

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

AFC Women's Asian Cup record

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

SAFF Championship record

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Official Matches

Date	Opposition	Result	Score	Competition
December 14, 2010	Nepal	L	0–13	2010 SAFF Championship
December 16, 2010	Pakistan	L	0–3	2010 SAFF Championship
December 18, 2010	Maldives	D	2–2	2010 SAFF Championship
February 16, 2012	Qatar	W	2–0	Friendly
September 8, 2012	Maldives	D	1–1	2012 SAFF Championship
September 10, 2012	Pakistan	W	4–0	2012 SAFF Championship
September 12, 2012	Nepal	L	1–7	2012 SAFF Championship
September 14, 2012	India	L	0–11	2012 SAFF Championship
November 13, 2014	Bangladesh	L	1–6	2014 SAFF Championship
November 15, 2014	Maldives	L	0–1	2014 SAFF Championship
November 17, 2014	India	L	0–12	2014 SAFF Championship

Record against other countries

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD
Bangladesh	1	0	0	1	1	6	−6
India	2	0	0	2	0	23	−23
Maldives	3	0	2	1	3	4	−1
Nepal	2	0	0	2	1	20	−19
Pakistan	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1
Qatar	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2
Total	11	2	2	7	11	56	−45

Home stadium

The major football matches in Afghanistan are held at the Afghan Football Federation Stadium (popularly known as the Ghazi Stadium) in Kabul. It was built during the reign of King Amanullah Khan in 1923. The stadium has a capacity of around 25,000 people.

Managers

See also

• Afghanistan national football team
• Awista Ayub

References