Evacuated Afghan women's team included "false" footballers

A high-profile evacuation to the UK of Afghan pistillate footballers fleeing the Taliban included a fig of women who were not the top-tier players that it was claimed, a BBC probe has been told.

Thirty 5 women and their families - 130 radical successful full - were flown to the UK from Pakistan successful November 2021.

Women footballers were seen to beryllium astatine hazard from the Taliban, and immoderate feared they would beryllium punished for participating successful a athletics the caller authorities viewed arsenic un-Islamic.

They were granted visas by the Home Office. However, Newsnight has had entree to the database of evacuees that was submitted to the British authorities successful bid to get introduction to the UK. While the names and different individuality details are genuine, the statement of the main applicants arsenic nationalist players oregon members of a determination squad - successful immoderate cases - appears to beryllium false.

The BBC spoke to a fig of erstwhile Afghan players, coaches and officials who identified 13 individuals who they believed were not members of the teams listed.

Many of the evacuees were described arsenic members of the Herat Youth Team. But Newsnight tracked down the team's erstwhile coach, Najibullah Nowroozi, who present works successful women's shot successful Italy.

He says that erstwhile helium saw the database of radical who were evacuated, helium wondered if immoderate of them had ever visited the Herat shot ground, fto unsocial played for the nationalist team: "I person seen radical successful the database who person not adjacent worn a shot portion successful Herat."

There is resentment among genuine players present surviving nether Taliban regularisation successful Afghanistan, that others look to person got retired with mendacious credentials.

One, who wishes to stay anonymous, tells Newsnight: "The Taliban person banned sports for women and girls... we are near down successful Afghanistan with nary future. It conscionable makes maine consciousness precise neglected and precise bittersweet due to the fact that we are the existent players and not immoderate of those that got evacuated."

Sabriah Nawrouzi is simply a erstwhile skipper of the Herat Youth Team who was evacuated on with her team-mates Narges Mayeli, Sahar Chamran and Fatemah Baratean. She present plays shot successful the northbound of England. While staying successful a Pakistan edifice en way for the UK, she says she met immoderate women for the archetypal time, who claimed to beryllium portion of her team.

Ms Nawrouzi says that erstwhile successful England, she had to divided the evacuees into 2 teams, due to the fact that "because 1 squad couldn't play football".

The shot evacuation took spot successful the months pursuing the autumn of Kabul and was personally championed by Priti Patel, the location caput astatine that time.

The Home Office says the determination demonstrated the UK's committedness to helping at-risk Afghans resettle successful the UK: "Their emotion of shot enactment these women and girls astatine hazard from the Taliban. We are arrogant that members of the Afghan Girls Development Squad and their household members were brought to information successful the UK."

Siu Anne Gill ran the Rokit Foundation foundation which was progressive successful bringing the footballers to the UK. She says the Home Office failed to cheque the credentials of the women footballers connected the flight, relying alternatively connected names provided by erstwhile Afghan planetary subordinate and campaigner Khalida Popal.

Ms Gill said: "Khalida Popal personally had been including much names and much names and much names. We asked Khalida, 'Did you cheque that these are footballers?' She said 'Yes, they're decidedly footballers.'"

Ms Popal runs a non-profit organisation called Girl Power which works to empower women done sport. She says she didn't knowingly assistance non-footballers to assertion asylum done the scheme, and told america that the Rokit Foundation had besides removed and added others to the list. Rokit judge that they added immoderate names to the list, and that this was agreed betwixt them and Ms Popal.

In a connection Ms Popal told Newsnight: "I categorically contradict the allegations directed astatine me. I person repeatedly provided extended grounds and explanations astir wherefore immoderate proposition that I had immoderate ceremonial relation successful verification and/or knowingly misled anyone astir the identities of those evacuated is wrong."

A Home Office spokesperson says: "We worked with a fig of organisations who identified and referred the radical to us, undertaking information checks arsenic portion of the process. Should determination beryllium grounds that the accusation provided was incorrect, the Home Office volition investigate."