Sydney (AFP)
Dozens of threatened footballers in Afghanistan have been evacuated by the Australian government, the World Footballers Union said on Tuesday.
Khalida Popal, the former captain of the Afghan women's football team who helped evacuate the players, said some of them were beaten and heard gunshots as they fled.
She tweeted a photo of the group crowded on a plane, and another showing them walking on the tarmac with backpacks.
"All 75 players and some members of their families have left Afghanistan," she wrote.
The International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro) said the evacuated Afghan players were "in a dangerous situation" and "many athletes" were still in danger.
Afghan players pose on November 10, 2014 in Islamabad, three days before their debut against Bangladesh in the South Asian Football Federation Championship FAROOQ NAEEM AFP / Archives
A statement on the FIFPro website expressed gratitude for the Australian government's evacuation efforts.
“These young women, both as athletes and activists, were in danger and on behalf of their peers around the world, we thank the international community for coming to their rescue,” FIFPro said in the statement. communicated.
FIFPro did not say what the final destination of the women was, although the union tweeted on Sunday that several countries and groups were working on the file.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, many fear a return to the brutality of the Taliban regime of the 1990s, in which sport was tightly controlled and prohibited for women.
© 2021 AFP