But even Khalida Popal – the former captain of the country’s national football team and one of Afghanistan’s most vocal proponents for change – admits that she’s shocked at the extent that governing bodies such as the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Fifa have been complicit in marginalising women’s sport in the country.

England should refuse to play the Champions Trophy cricket match against Afghanistan next month according to UK politicians.

England will face Afghanistan in their second group game of the 2025 Champions Trophy, but more than 160 politicians have called for a boycott over the Taliban's outlawing of female sport

England's men's players have the "power" to make their own stand and refuse to play Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy, says Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi.

Richard Gould, the ECB's chief executive, has rejected calls from a group of British politicians for England to boycott their upcoming Champions Trophy clash with Afghanistan in February, saying that the Taliban regime's clampdown on women's rights is a matter that requires a "co-ordinated,

A group of British lawmakers urged England to boycott their Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan next month, saying the country's cricket board (ECB) needed to take a stand against the Taliban's crackdown on women.

The UK government says the International Cricket Council should "deliver on their own rules" relating to women's participation as the England men's team resist calls to boycott their upcoming match against Afghanistan.