Khalida Popal, former captain and co-founder of the Afghanistan women's national football team, has described the small team that orchestrated the evacuation of up to 200 Afghan athletes and their associates from Kabul airport as working 'like fingers on one hand' to deliver a 'big strong punch'. Over two weeks, the group tracked Taliban movements and military personnel in real time to achieve the seemingly impossible: getting female football players and others onto planes.
The team included human rights lawyer Kat Craig of players' union Fifpro, former US international and Afghanistan women's head coach Kelly Lindsey, and Fifpro general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann. They were mobilised after Popal received desperate calls from former teammates, some of whom said they would rather shoot themselves than be captured by the Taliban. The first strategy meeting took place on 16 August, three days after the Afghan government surrendered.
Craig noted that they treated every 24 hours as if it were the last, working concurrently on multiple alternatives rather than consecutively. They identified four highly vulnerable players who were public women's rights activists and at risk from traditionalist factions merging with the Taliban. The team monitored human rights groups, reached out to former military contacts, and watched for government evacuation announcements to focus their efforts.
The evacuation succeeded where many others failed, thanks to the coordinated efforts of this small, dedicated crew operating across time zones. Their work highlights the challenges of rescuing at-risk individuals in volatile conflict zones.
