As the World Cup brings global attention to Mexico, former Afghanistan women’s national team captain Khalida Popal is asking a critical question: how much of that spotlight will reach the vulnerable girls and refugees outside the stadium gates?
Football Clinics for Refugee Children
Popal, a founder of the Afghanistan women’s national team, fled the country after the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and effectively erased women from sport and much of public life. Now in Mexico City, she is working with local organisations to run football clinics for refugee children and marginalised communities, using the World Cup to press host nations to deliver a lasting social legacy beyond the tournament.
Popal said Mexico had made significant progress in women’s football, pointing to the growing strength of Liga MX Femenil and the appointment of the first Mexican female referee, Katia Garcia, to officiate in a men’s World Cup match. “I watched the woman stand there. That’s the Mexico we want to see,” Popal said, adding that visible female leaders on the pitch inspire girls to believe they belong in football.
Football is Politics
Popal firmly dismissed the notion that sport and social issues should be kept separate. “Everything about football is politics. It’s business and it’s politics,” she said, noting that women’s football, in particular, is intrinsically tied to activism. As the sport historically lacked financial backing, players were driven purely by a love for the game, Popal added, empowering them to lead major global campaigns tackling the gender pay gap, gender-based violence and LGBTQ+ inclusion.
However, she said those advances must be matched by progress off the field. Mexico continues to grapple with high levels of gender-based violence and femicide, with 70,500 people requesting asylum last year, according to the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR). Most are women and children living in shelters, and Popal warned that leaving vulnerable communities without opportunities or long-term support fuels cycles of violence and exclusion.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
