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.

Despite mounting calls in England and South Africa for their men’s teams to boycott Afghanistan matches in the Champions Trophy 2025, it is highly unlikely that the games will be cancelled. This is primarily because neither team would want to forfeit valuable points in a closely contested,

England’s cricket authorities have rejected calls to boycott an upcoming match against Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy over the Taliban’s oppression of women and girls. Richard Gould, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB),

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.

South Africa's sports minister, Gayton McKenzie, has added his voice to the growing backlash at Afghanistan's participation in next month's ICC Champions Trophy, after comparing the Taliban regime's treatment of women in the country to Apartheid,

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is 40 days away, but the controversies are taking no stopping, as the South Africa Sports Minister, Gayton McKenzie, is the latest person to join the boycott movement of the mega event.

By Mark Gleeson CAPE TOWN (Reuters) -South Africa Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie said he supported calls for a boycott of Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, adding his voice to those of British politicians who have called on England not to play them next month.