History was made in Berrechid, Morocco, as the FIFA Unites: Women's Series 2025 commenced today, with Afghan Women United playing their first international match. Chad, Libya and Tunisia are also participating in the pioneering tournament, which they debuted on the first match day.

Making their historic international debut, Afghan Women United scored the opening goal through striker Manozh Noori in their match against Chad, who eventually won the match 6-1. In the second match, Tunisia secured an impressive 16-0 victory against Libya.

The match against Chad marked an emotional return to the global stage for Afghan women's football after nearly four years and the first involvement in an international tournament of Afghan Women United, a name chosen by the players with FIFA to the team formed earlier this year.

The historic four-team event – a groundbreaking project pioneered by FIFA and a leading initiative in the sporting world – reinforces FIFA’s efforts to promote and protect the rights of all women and girls to play the sport, pursue their footballing dreams and thrive through the game.

In May, the FIFA Council approved the creation of an Afghan women’s team as part of the FIFA Strategy for Action for Afghan Women’s Football. FIFA's support for the team has included significant financial resources, the organisation of training camps in world-class facilities, and the establishment of a professional network of experts to ensure that Afghan women players receive the same standards of care and opportunity as any other high-profile women's national team.

The player selection process involved three training camps, which saw approximately 70 players from Australia and Europe perform in front of the head coach, Pauline Hamill, and her female-centred support staff.

The first camp was staged in Sydney, Australia, followed by two held at England’s renowned St. George’s Park National Football Centre in Burton upon Trent. While football has anchored each of the three camps, the experience was designed to be holistic. Coaches and FIFA staff were available to assist with nutrition and healthcare, counselling, and media training. Player-led workshops focused on team building and tactics, well-being and personal development. Through it all, safeguarding and security were of paramount importance.

“We are profoundly grateful that FIFA gave us this opportunity and this privilege to represent what women are capable of”, said Afghan Women United captain Fatima Haidari. “It’s a clear message to the world that if women want to do anything in their life, not just an athlete path, (they should) be equal [to] men in society, especially [on] (the) sports field and (in) countries like Afghanistan, that didn’t have the opportunity (in) these [recent] years. It made this dream come true. So, we are really grateful that FIFA [gave] us this opportunity.”

This unprecedented initiative reflects FIFA’s ongoing commitment to women and girls and also represents a significant step forward in providing Afghan players the international platform to which they aspire, while creating a safe and inclusive footballing environment.

The long-term goal is to fulfil football’s unique promise: to provide access to opportunity, community and hope – not to mention the thrill of competition – to all.

“I would like to thank FIFA for organising this tournament, because it encourages all the national teams that are here”, said Chaima Abassi Chaima, Tunisia's captain and chosen Player of the Match, after her team's win against Libya. “I have been playing for 20 years and have never seen a team from Afghanistan, Chad or Libya before. So I am very happy to have them here with us in this tournament and I would like to encourage and motivate them. We players, FIFA and the other organisations here must keep motivating them.”

FIFA Unites: Women's Series 2025 continues with matches scheduled for Wednesday, 29 October and Saturday, 1 November. The team with the most points at the conclusion of the round-robin format will be declared the winner.

All matches of the FIFA United: Women’s Series will be streamed live on FIFA+ for a global audience.