The ABC's Samantha Lewis has written an in-depth, moving article about how the Afghan women's football team and their families came to Australia and are being supported here now by Women Onside.
Sam explains the critical roles of Women Onsiders Joanna Charaktis, Allyson Flynn, Moya Dodd and Asma Mirzae in helping to get the players out of Afghanistan and into Australia. She also tells the story of how the women's football community has rallied to support the players, lead by Women Onside director Asma Mirzae. Sam's story gets to the heart of the matter - the human connections, the emotions of the players and their supporters, the pain of the experience, the hope for the future.
"Football is such a powerful tool that mobilises you and empowers you to be your best self and to reach your fullest potential, so wherever possible, we'll be using football to make integration much easier for these girls.
"Where Women Onside will complement the [government] support is through the social engagement side of things, with football being one of the drivers. That goes back to my lived experience as well and how much of an impact football had on me as I was on a journey to resettle in Australia." - Asma Mirzae, Women Onside
Read the story here:
Thanks Sam for telling this story so well.
And thank you to all the people who have come on board to help financially and in-kind through the Afghan Football Support Network.
You can follow Sam on Twitter @battledinosaur
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