‘Never lose hope’: how a new Afghanistan women’s team helps refugees cope with trauma

Afghan Women United savour the emotional release of competing at the first Fifa Unites: Women’s Series. Photograph: Jalal Morchidi/EPA

“When I step on to the pitch everything else is automatically erased from my mind,” says the captain of Afghan Women United, Fatima Haidari, when asked how football helps her cope with the traumas she has suffered.

“I train, I play, and a fire inside me is lit, not just because of the power that I feel at that moment as a player, but because I feel I have many other girls with me. It’s like I’m taking their hands. Like I’m playing with them. It’s not just for me, and I feel powerful.”