‘We were international footballers – now we’d be arrested if we stepped in the grounds’

After learning she faced imprisonment, she acceptable herself connected occurrence and subsequently died successful hospital, sparking a quality rights outcry successful Iran and crossed the world.

“She was a victim, but she became an icon,” Roma, 30, says. “An icon for each Iranian girls. Her sacrifice has led to alteration successful Iran.”

With unspeakable irony, Azadi means state – and each the sisters person ever wanted is the state to play and manager football. But calved nether the Taliban, their household had to fly to Iran erstwhile they were children – and there, nether a hardline government, they were not allowed to participate stadiums.

After having been forced into kid labour themselves, they acceptable up respective highly palmy young people’s shot teams from among the Afghan exile colonisation – providing an flight from kid labour for galore of their players.

Their teams – involving implicit 700 children – became truthful celebrated that caput manager Rozma won the United Nations’ Nansen Refugee Award.

Mozhgan roseate up done the ranks of women’s shot successful Iran lone to find refugees were banned from playing successful the Premier League.

After the Taliban were pushed retired and Afghanistan became much stable, from 2015 they were capable to spell backmost and play successful the Afghan Premier League, with Mozhgan called up to the nationalist squad successful 2021.

The Taliban re-invaded Kabul that August – prompting the squad skipper Khalida Popal to impulse nationalist squad players to delete their societal media accounts and adjacent pain their shot kits to prevention their lives.

Mozhgan picked up a voicemail from the manager of the nationalist Afghan team. “The connection said determination is nary longer a women’s nationalist squad of Afghanistan,” she remembers. “It said, we don’t person a squad anymore. It was devastating.”

Now, women’s shot is outlawed successful Afghanistan – and immoderate pistillate jock caught oregon seen astatine sports facilities oregon gyms faces imprisonment, torture, and adjacent the decease penalty.

Today, astatine the stadium, wherever they are the guests of Man City, the Ghafouri sisters archer maine they are besides reasoning of a young antheral called Ali Arab, who they trained successful the exile camps of Iran from the property of 13. Ali had ended up joining the Afghan under-20s nationalist futsal team.

“He was specified a talent,” Mozhgan says. “But erstwhile the Taliban came back, and helium knew determination would beryllium nary much shot and helium was surviving successful a hopeless situation, helium ended his ain life.”

Last Friday, aft speechmaking our erstwhile study connected the sisters’ passionateness for shot and Man City successful the Mirror, the Blues invited the sisters to ticker the women’s squad bid astatine the Joie Stadium successful Manchester, adjacent to the Etihad.

There they saw WSL stars including Lionesses Lauren Hemp, Chloe Kelly, Jess Park and Khiara Keating successful action. They besides met managing manager of Manchester City Women, Charlotte O’Neill.

O’Neill was moved to tears erstwhile they archer her astir young Ali – the talented young antheral who conscionable wanted to play football. “Meeting the Ghafouri sisters who stock our passionateness for shot was genuinely moving,” O’Neill said afterwards.

“It was an honour to perceive their stories, including the galore obstacles they person flooded and however their emotion for shot has helped them passim their journey.

“Having heard their communicative archetypal hand, I person nary uncertainty that their emotion for shot volition animate countless others, arsenic it surely did for me. Their determination and resilience are a testament to the powerfulness of athletics successful breaking down barriers and bringing radical together.”

The Ghafouri sisters explicate that contempt the information their all-time favourite subordinate is Cristiano Ronaldo, their favourite UK squad is Man City.

“It’s 1 of the reasons we wanted to travel to this country,” Rozma, 32, says. “We utilized to emotion watching Samir Nasri, David Silva and Joe Hart. And we are large fans of Kevin de Bruyne and Phil Foden successful the existent team.

“Our favourite players successful the women’s squad are Vivianne Miedema and Rebecca Knak, who some scored headers connected Sunday. We were truthful impressed, not conscionable with the team’s discipline, grooming and tactics, but however humble each the squad are.

“It’s absorbing for america to larn determination was a prohibition connected women’s shot successful England 1921-71 excessively – erstwhile the FA said the crippled was ‘unsuitable for females’.”

When the sisters arrived successful the UK arsenic refugees, they were dispersed to Carlisle. They worked nights successful a section nutrient mill until they had capable to rent a tiny portion successful the covered marketplace – wherever they acceptable up their ain hairsbreadth and quality salon, ‘4 Sisters’.

Striker Mozhgan and Roma were soon connected the books of Carlisle Utd Ladies successful the Lancashire County league, but Mozhgan tore a ligament 10 months ago, and has been connected an NHS waiting database for country ever since. Yet different stroke for the sisters’ dreams of playing astatine elite level.

At the Etihad, the sisters face-timed the inspiration for each of their travel – their mum, Pari, who ever encouraged them to play shot contempt the disapproval of some.

“Some radical would play the religion card,” Resalat, 26, told me. “But my mum ever said, ‘I volition basal up for you’. She said she’s not taking immoderate crap and my girls tin bash what they like.”

But, portion things are improving successful Iran, backmost successful Afghanistan, nether the Taliban, the concern is rapidly deteriorating. “Things are getting worse each azygous time for girls successful Afghanistan, not conscionable successful shot but adjacent successful education, successful everything,” Mozhgan says.

On Sunday, it wasn’t to beryllium for Man City, who mislaid a goal-filled crippled – including an Ella Toone hat-trick – 4-2. But for the Ghafouris, watching from the household stand, the spectators won.

“We tin spot however passionately women’s shot is followed by men, women and particularly children and teenagers,” Mozhgan says. “Hearing each the small girls singing and chanting unneurotic is truly inspiring and beautiful.”