There is one team that stands out a little extra in the Gothia Cup: the girls’ team that was helped to escape from Afghanistan when the Taliban took over the country.
– The girls are a little nervous, they are not only playing for the team but for the whole country.
Over 5,000 matches will be played this week. Youth teams from all over the world participate in what has become the world’s biggest soccer cup – the Gothia Cup in Gothenburg.
Among the teams is the Afghan youth team that was helped to flee the country in 2021.
– For the first time, we have with us the team Ayenda FC, which means future. It is girls from Afghanistan who were evacuated in 2021 when the Taliban took over the country and said that girls are not allowed to play football, says coach Wida Zemarais.
Helped them escape – now training the team
Borås and former Afghan national football player Wida Zemarais himself fled Afghanistan in the 90s. She grew up in Sweden but later became involved in football in Afghanistan.
In August 2021, everything changed. When the Taliban took over the country, conditions again became much more difficult for girls, and playing sports as a young girl became unthinkable.
Wida Zemerais, who already knew many of the youth players, pulled strings to get the girls out of the country. In the end, she was able to get the help of an organization to fly them to Portugal, where most of them now live and play soccer.
Nervous before the matches
Now they are in Gothenburg and will play the Gothia Cup. Wida Zemerais coaches the team.
– It is huge for me as a former national team player to be able to come here and represent the country. The girls are a bit nervous, they are not only playing for the team but for the whole nation.
The Ayenda FC team has taken to social media to ask for support from friends and family.
– We have gone out on social media and asked Afghan friends and family to support these girls. They will need it, says Zemarais.