Refugee team Afghan Women United get their first win at FIFA Unites: Women’s Series | OneFootball

Sosan Mohammadi of Afghan Women United celebrates scoring her team’s sixth goal during the FIFA Unites: Women’s Series 2025 match between Libya and Afghan Women United on November 01, 2025 in Casablanca, Morocco. (Photo by Francois Nel – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

The Afghan refugee team – now known as Afghan Women United – got their first win at the FIFA Unites: Women’s Series.

The tournament concluded in Morocco with Chad finishing as champions, meaning that they will feature in the official world rankings for the first time – as will Libya.

But perhaps the most significant result was Afghan Women United’s 7-0 victory over Libya. Their squad of refugees from Afghanistan was selected after three summer trials in Australia and England, and features 14 women based in Australia, five in the UK, and two in Italy and Portugal, led by head coach Pauline Hamill of Scotland and assistant Shilene Booysen of South Africa.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino watched the second round of matches, and according to quotes on the FIFA website told Afghan Women United they were at “the beginning of a beautiful, beautiful story that you are writing for yourselves, for your families, for so many girls and women all over the world.”

Afghan Women United ultimately finished third in the four-team tournament, but unsurprisingly they did not judge success by the final standings.

“We were waiting and dreaming of this win,” Afghan Women United captain Fatima Sadat said. “We had many beautiful experiences [in the tournament]. We were with all teams for the FIFA dinner, and that was the most beautiful moment. And inside the pitch, we absolutely learned, we are growing, and, for the next generation [of Afghanistan players], we will be the people that will teach them.”

FIFA Unites: Women’s Series – a “shared language”

Khalida Popal, a former Afghanistan captain, reflected on social media about the impact of the four-team tournament: “We’ve all faced struggles, barriers, and challenges…yet football united us. It’s our shared language – a language of strength, hope, and purpose. Together, we stand for something bigger than ourselves – for our countries, our sisters, and women everywhere.”

The team scored their first goal courtesy of Manozh Noori in a tournament-opening loss to Chad – who won all three of their matches, including a 1-0 win over Tunisia in the last match of the round-robin tournament. Chad took the lead in the 29th minute thanks to a seventh goal of the tournament from striker Solange Larkingam.