Khalida Popal on the fight for Afghanistan’s national team to play football again

With just over a week to go until International Women’s Day, we wanted to welcome a truly inspirational woman in football onto the podcast.Khalida Popal is the former captain of the Afghan women’s national team. In fact, if it wasn’t for her, the team would never have been formed back in 2007. And if it wasn’t for her, the current squad would never have escaped Kabul when the Taliban regained power in August 2021.Now, Khalida faces a new battle with football’s authorities. With the Taliban’s ban on women’s sport, FIFA are refusing to recognise the Afghan team. Rachel speaks to Khalida all about that, the long journey to this point, and why football in particular is such a powerful tool for female empowerment.Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube! Email us [email protected] up for the Football Ramble Patreon to get ad-free Upfront shows and more: patreon.com/footballramble.***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!***Upfront is your definitive women's football podcast, covering the WSL, the Lionesses, and beyond. Subscribe for new podcasts every Tuesday throughout the season. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.