The players were among hundreds of female athletes who fled the country when the Taliban began limiting women’s freedoms.
Kim Kardashian has helped to fund an evacuation flight to the UK for members of the Afghanistan women’s youth development team.
The 35 female players and their families, roughly 130 people in total, landed safely at Stansted Airport shortly before 4am on Thursday, according to the ROKiT Foundation.
They will now spend 10 days in quarantine before beginning their new lives in the UK.
The team and their families had been staying in Pakistan since escaping from Afghanistan, following the takeover by the Taliban in August.
They were on temporary 30-day Visas but faced being sent back once their asylum period ran out.
A representative for Kim confirmed to PA news agency that the flight had been funded by the reality star and her SKIMS brand.
We’re very proud of the integral role ROKiT played in securing the safe passage of the Afghan Girls Youth Football Team to Pakistan and successful onward journey to the UK. We are sure they will contribute positively in the UKs communities going forward. We’re proud of them all. pic.twitter.com/rqLau91yxs
— ROKiT (@rokit) November 18, 2021
Leeds United are one of the organisations who have offered help to the young women.
A Government spokesperson said: “Like others we have brought to the UK from Afghanistan, the Afghanistan girls’ football team will receive a warm welcome, support and accommodation.
“The Government is committed to doing all it can to support those most in need, including vulnerable women and girls at risk who have had to flee Afghanistan.”
Khalida Popal, a former captain of Afghanistan’s women’s football team who has helped many female athletes evacuate, said that the girls lives had been in great danger.
“The Afghan female footballers are well-known figures in the country. Their lives were in great danger because of people in the country who opposed their activism and wanted to stop their sport and educational activities.”
She added that girls had been beaten, had their houses burnt down and even had family members kidnapped by the Taliban.
“The Taliban were violent,” one of the girls told Sky News.
“They threatened us that: ‘We don’t know who you are but if you cannot pass the border we will kill all of you here’.
“Our lives have been saved and we are eternally grateful to all.”
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