Shine FC’s Afghan refugees in Houston say FIFA has not kept its promises | OneFootball

Afghan footballers who fled the Taliban now train with Houston’s Shine FC, saying FIFA helped secure their escape and asylum but has since fallen short on pledges of support and family reunification. Their weekly sessions offer rare respite amid jobs and paused studies.

According to L'Équipe, the team met on 19 June at Blue Ridge Park, a modest complex a few kilometres from the NRG Stadium where the Netherlands beat Sweden 5-1 before 68,000 fans on 20 June.

After the 2021 Taliban return, players faced threats. Evacuations were organised by several bodies including FIFA, with transits through Qatar for two months and Albania for nearly two years before United States visas arrived. One former international, Zahra Hassani, has not seen her parents for five years.

Around a dozen refugees reached Houston in summer 2023, forced to prioritise work over education and football. In May 2025, American advocate Sarah Labowitz founded Shine FC, which competes in small seasonal local leagues and helps with careers, finances and English classes.

The players remain grateful for early assistance but say FIFA did not deliver on promises to bring families and to support resettlement. When FIFA launched Afghan Women United in May 2025, Houston-based refugees were later told they would not be considered, citing a hostile climate under Trump-era migration policy, despite the players holding green cards.

On 29 April, the FIFA Council cleared Afghan Women United to enter international women’s competitions. While Brazil 2027 is already out of reach, Los Angeles 2028 could be possible, but only for refugees based outside the United States. For those left out, FIFA had pledged in September 2025 welfare and protection measures, education access and help into the game, commitments Shine FC say they still await.

Source: L'Équipe