The Kabul Tribune (KT) — U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett has urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to formally recognize Afghanistan's women's cricket team, warning that its funding is set to expire next month.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Bennett said the ICC's Annual General Meeting (AGM) begins today while Afghanistan's women's cricket team, which has lived in exile since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, remains unrecognized.
He said the team's financial support is due to expire in August 2026 and called for immediate action to secure its future.
Bennett pointed to FIFA's support for Afghan women footballers as an example, arguing that the ICC could take similar steps for women's cricket.
"FIFA found a way for Afghan women footballers. Cricket can too. Recognition and sustained support—nothing less," Bennett wrote.
The Afghanistan women's cricket team has been unable to play internationally since many of its players fled the country following the Taliban's return to power in 2021, amid restrictions on women's participation in sports.
