Afghanistan refugee women’s cricket team will tour England from June 22, marking a historic step for displaced female cricketers ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final at Lord’s amid global calls for inclusion and long-term support.
A significant moment for women’s cricket is set to unfold this summer as the Afghanistan refugee women’s cricket team prepares for a landmark tour of England beginning on June 22. The initiative, announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board, is being viewed as a powerful symbol of resilience, inclusion, and international support for displaced athletes who were forced to flee Afghanistan following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
The tour will feature high-level training sessions, development activities, and T20 matches organised through a partnership involving the Marylebone Cricket Club and the MCC Foundation. The players will also attend the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at Lord’s Cricket Ground on July 5, further underlining the global cricket community’s support for the displaced team.
The tour carries enormous emotional and cultural significance. Women’s participation in sports in Afghanistan has effectively disappeared since the Taliban imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s rights after reclaiming control of the country. Female athletes, including cricketers, were barred from professional competition and many faced threats, forcing several members of the national women’s cricket setup to seek refuge overseas.
More than 20 former Afghanistan women’s cricketers eventually resettled in Australia, where they continued training and rebuilding their sporting careers despite uncertain futures. Earlier this year, the refugee squad played its first competitive match in Melbourne, marking an important milestone in their journey back into international cricket. Members of the squad had also travelled to India during the men’s ODI World Cup last year, drawing global attention to their situation.
Speaking about the upcoming England tour, Clare Connor, Deputy CEO of the ECB and Managing Director of England Women, praised the determination shown by the players over the past few years.
She stated that the athletes had demonstrated “extraordinary resilience” since leaving Afghanistan in 2021 and highlighted the importance of creating meaningful opportunities for them to reconnect with the game. Connor added that cricket should represent inclusion and opportunity for everyone, and expressed pride in hosting the tour and welcoming the players to England.
The initiative has also received support from “It’s Game On,” an organisation advocating for displaced Afghan female athletes. Former Australian cricketer Mel Jones, who co-founded the organisation, said the tour represented a major step forward but stressed that much more work still needed to be done.
Jones noted that the players had shown remarkable courage and commitment despite losing the chance to represent their country officially. She emphasised that symbolic moments alone would not be enough and called for sustained long-term action to ensure displaced Afghan women cricketers receive continued opportunities and recognition within the international cricket system.
Last year, the International Cricket Council established a special task force to support displaced Afghan female cricketers. The initiative, supported by the ECB, Cricket Australia, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India, included the creation of a financial assistance fund aimed at helping the players continue their careers. However, uncertainty remains regarding the long-term sustainability of the programme.
Afghanistan continues to retain full ICC membership, despite ongoing criticism regarding the absence of an active women’s national team. Under ICC regulations, full member nations are generally expected to support both men’s and women’s cricket structures. While Afghanistan’s men’s team continues to compete at the highest level, international debate over women’s participation in Afghan sport remains unresolved.
In another important development for Afghan women athletes, FIFA recently approved Afghanistan’s return to international women’s football in April, a decision widely welcomed as a breakthrough for exiled female footballers seeking competitive opportunities once again.
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For the Afghanistan refugee women’s cricket team, the upcoming England tour represents more than a sporting assignment. It stands as a message of survival, determination, and hope, while reminding the world that the fight for equality and recognition in sport is far from over.
