TORONTO – Farkhunda Muhtaj has trained with grit and determination most of her life, making history last year by becoming the first player signed by Calgary Wild FC in the Northern Super League franchise’s history.
The Scarborough, Ont. native, who was born in Pakistan, has used the same resolve and tenacity to orchestrate a journey to freedom for dozens of young girls in Afghanistan, where her parents were born.
“I hope with this World Cup, the expansion of 32 to 48 teams, people will see a lot of different nations,” Muhtaj told CTV News.
“And I hope that they can actually learn about the history of the people, and some of the sacrifices and the challenges that they’ve gone through.”
And she would know.
In August 2021, the Taliban seized Kabul in Afghanistan and began targeting young female athletes who were banned from sport.
Thousands of kilometres away in Canada, Muhtaj got a life-changing call from the general secretary of the Afghanistan Football Federation, who “urgently requested my help, given that the young girls and their family members’ lives were at risk and needed someone to immediately evacuate them.”
It was a request that seemed impossible, but she was in a unique position to help. Muhtaj was the captain of the Afghan women’s senior team, which had roots in the country, but trained at camps abroad because of security threats within the country.
Many junior team members, however, remained there, trapped and desperate.
“I was calling humanitarian lawyers and organizations in Canada, and no one was able to support me,” she said. “Then through a great mentor and friend … she was able to connect me with former U.S. intelligence officers, and they sat on a Zoom meeting with me. I just explained to them the sensitivity.”
The plan was to evacuate Kabul by Aug. 31 – the date of the last flight. Muhtaj communicated with the players through encrypted WhatsApp chats and voice notes because the Taliban was intercepting communications.
“I requested their passports, IDs, just so I’m prepared,” Muhtaj explained.
When the time came, the girls, travelling separately, made the perilous journey to the airport. But getting there didn’t guarantee a flight.
When they arrived, their dream of a flight to freedom was dashed.
“Although we tried numerous times, we failed dozens and dozens of times,” Muhtaj said.
So they pursued their backup plan: a 10-hour bus ride northwest to Mazar-i-Sharif.
But they couldn’t get out from there, either.
“And so our next plan was, ‘let’s get them out through Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, the northern borders,’” Muhtaj said.
But they were closed.
And so for nearly three weeks, they stayed in a safe house. It was an agonizing wait – until, Muhtaj said they got a lifeline.
“Portugal stepped up to provide asylum, and we had a very short three-hour window of opportunity to actually get them out of the safe house, onto busses, into the airport, on the aircraft and out of the country,” she said. “We were able to execute on September 19th, 2021.”
She was in Portugal the moment 80 Afghan soccer players and their families landed.
Two months later, another 225 arrived.
“You felt a huge sense of relief that they’re finally safe and everything went well, because it’s a huge risk,” she said.
Muhtaj’s story, and the courage of the girls she helped, was brought to the attention of Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, which used the original chat messages and turned the story into a half-hour documentary called “We Are Ayenda.”
In 2024, “We Are Ayenda” received the Grand Prix for Entertainment at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.
“Ayenda” means “future” in the Pashto and Dari languages, spoken in Afghanistan.
“To be honest, it’s so inspiring,” said Rod Moran, global head of creative for the Family of Apps at Meta. “It’s like she’s an idol for me.”
Now, Muhtaj wants the players to dream even higher.
During a meeting in Vancouver last April, FIFA fully recognized the Afghanistan women’s national team, which Muhtaj explained “means we can play in international competitions …”
“Players in exile, at least, can compete.”
The goal? Making it to the inaugural FIFA Women’s Club World Cup in Los Angeles in 2028.
