A Voice from the Stands
Khalida Popal, once the captain of Afghanistan’s women’s national team, escaped the Taliban’s return in 2021 and found refuge in Mexico City. From this bustling metropolis she now watches the world’s biggest football festival, using every broadcast and stadium tour to draw attention to the girls she works with in shelters and community centers.
Through her nonprofit, Girl Power, Popal runs weekly football clinics that teach not only ball skills but also confidence and solidarity to refugee children who have been uprooted by conflict. The sessions have become a safe space where language barriers fade and teammates become family.
Football as a Platform for Change
Mexico’s own progress in the women’s game provides a stark contrast to the repression Popal left behind. The country’s Liga MX Femenil has grown into a professional league, and earlier this year Katia Garcia made history by becoming the first Mexican female referee to officiate a men’s World Cup match, a milestone that Popal cites as proof that the sport can break gender ceilings when given the chance.
Yet the celebration is tempered by the reality that Mexico still grapples with high rates of gender‑based violence and femicide. Last year, the UNHCR recorded more than 70,000 asylum requests, many from women fleeing violence, underscoring the urgency of creating lasting opportunities beyond the tournament’s spotlight.
Popal warns that the commercial surge surrounding the World Cup risks eclipsing the activist foundations that have long powered women’s football. When profit becomes the primary narrative, the voices of athletes like herself — who speak for the marginalized — can be drowned out, leaving vulnerable communities without the support they need to break cycles of exclusion.
A Call for Sustainable Legacy
Beyond the cheering crowds, Popal insists that true progress requires long‑term investment in education, employment and safe housing for displaced girls. She argues that football’s power lies in its ability to unite, but only if the sport remains anchored to the communities it aims to serve.