Fresh pressure has been placed on the International Cricket Council to formally recognise Afghanistan’s women’s cricket team after UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett appealed for immediate action as the ICC’s annual meeting gets underway in Edinburgh. His intervention comes with the team’s existing financial support due to expire in August, adding urgency to calls for a long-term solution.
Appeal comes as ICC leaders gather
Bennett used X to urge cricket’s global governing body to follow the example set by world football in supporting Afghan women athletes.
He wrote on X: “@IntCricketC AGM starts today: Afghanistan women’s cricket team – in exile since 2021, still unrecognised, their funding due to expire in August. FIFA found a way for Afghan women footballers. Cricket can too. Recognition & sustained support- nothing less. #AfghanWomensCricket.”
@IntCricketC AGM starts today: Afghanistan women's cricket team – in exile since 2021, still unrecognised, their funding due to expire in August. FIFA found a way for Afghan women footballers. Cricket can too. Recognition & sustained support- nothing less. #AfghanWomensCricket
— UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett (@SR_Afghanistan) July 8, 2026
The appeal came as the ICC’s four-day annual meeting opened on July 8 in Edinburgh, where officials are discussing a range of governance and administrative matters, including membership applications and other issues affecting the global game.
Recognition remains unresolved
Afghanistan’s women’s cricket team was originally established in 2010 but has not held official national status since the Taliban returned to power. Many of the players fled the country in 2021 and are now based in Australia, leaving the squad unable to compete internationally under Afghanistan’s banner.
With the current funding arrangement due to end next month, Bennett’s intervention has renewed attention on whether the ICC will establish a longer-term pathway for the players.
Campaign has gathered momentum
As previously reported by cricexec, the team’s campaign for recognition has gathered momentum in recent months following its return to competitive cricket during an England tour. The players have used those fixtures to press for greater clarity over their future while seeking a sustainable framework that would allow them to represent Afghanistan internationally again.
That programme, created jointly by the ICC and the cricket boards of England, Australia and India in 2025, has provided coaching, training and high-performance support, but no long-term arrangement has yet been confirmed beyond its conclusion.
The England tour also strengthened international backing for the players’ campaign, with growing calls from across the cricket community for a lasting solution that would provide both recognition and continued support.
Attention turns to the ICC
Bennett’s appeal places the issue before ICC leaders at a time when the governing body is already meeting to consider key matters affecting the sport.
With the current support programme nearing its end, the decisions taken in the coming weeks will determine whether Afghanistan’s women’s cricket team receives the long-term recognition and backing that campaigners have continued to seek.
