World cricket chiefs have no plans to ban Afghanistan’s men from the Champions Trophy or demand the Taliban allow a women’s team to represent the country, Sky Information has learned.
With the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) own policy requiring Testing nations to support women’s cricket, the British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer backs calls for sport’s world governing body to “play by its own rules”.
Downing Road’s intervention on Tuesday came after more than 160 MPs and colleagues called on the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to boycott their match against Afghanistan in the ICC 50-over tournament next month.
And those boycott calls were backed today by South Africa’s sports minister, Gayton McKenzie, as his country will also play Afghanistan in the same group as England.
But Cricket South Africa responded by saying: “The position on Afghanistan must be guided by the world body in accordance with the requirements and regulations for participation in international tournaments.”
The concern is that the ICC is allowing a violation of its own rules, as women and girls have been banned from playing sports since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and clamped down on rights, with female faces and bodies. that must be covered.
But Sky Information understands that the ICC intends to ultimately try to influence the taliban allow women’s cricket – using sport to create change – rather than penalizing Afghanistan.
The ICC is understood to have privately taken the view that male players should not be punished for the policies of the Afghan government, believing that its member association cannot control the position of the Taliban.
The ICC accepted Afghanistan as a full member in 2017 despite failing to comply with its constitution by having a women’s cricket program and accepting religious reasons in the Muslim nation.
But the Afghanistan Cricket Board awarded central contracts to 25 players in 2020 to form a team “that adheres to traditional Afghan and Islamic values”.
With the Taliban regaining control of the country in 2021 and restricting the rights of women and girls, the planned women’s international match never took place.
The ICC has a group in Afghanistan examining the situation in an attempt to use the country’s most popular sport to encourage the restoration of women’s rights.
An ICC spokesperson told Sky Information: “The ICC remains closely engaged with the situation in Afghanistan and continues to engage with our members.
“We are committed to leveraging our influence constructively to support the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) in fostering cricket development and ensuring playing opportunities for both men and women in Afghanistan.
“The ICC has set up a task force on cricket in Afghanistan, chaired by Vice President Imran Khwaja, who will lead the ongoing dialogue on this matter.”
But the ICC, which did not make any officials available for interviews, has come under fire from Afghan female sports activists.
“I am very disappointed and very sad as a woman from Afghanistan, as an athlete,” former Afghanistan women’s football captain Khalida Popal told Sky Information.
“The governing bodies do not show leadership. We have been talking about the situation in Afghanistan for more than three and a half years.
“But the governing bodies of sports have failed. They have not taken action. They have not respected their own policies and statutes.
“There has been gender discrimination between whites and blacks in sports, and they have ignored the women of Afghanistan.”
FIFA, which still allows Afghanistan men to compete internationally, is also under pressure to seek the restoration of women’s football, having helped evacuate players in 2021 during the Taliban takeover.
Other national associations have been banned due to government interference in their operations.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has pledged to “find solutions” but said that “the political, social and religious contexts in different parts of the world are sometimes beyond our ability to influence.”
Fifa’s position has influenced the approach of cricket chiefs by resisting making demands and threatening to punish Afghanistan.
But Ms Popal said: “We want you to support the women of Afghanistan – to make a strong statement and send a positive message to the women of Afghanistan – that sports will never accept discrimination and exclusion of half the population.”
More from Sky Information:
The fight for equality in Afghanistan
How Afghan women dream big
Taliban bans women from entering national park
The England and Wales Cricket Board is refusing to organize bilateral men’s matches against Afghanistan but wants a uniform approach from all countries when deciding whether to boycott ICC tournament matches.
Both the ECB and Cricket South Africa condemned the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls.
McKenzie, who serves in the South African government, said: “It is not for me, as sports minister, to make the final decision on whether South Africa should honor cricket matches against Afghanistan.
“If it was my decision, then it certainly wouldn’t happen.
“As a man who comes from a race that was not allowed equal access to sporting opportunities during Apartheid, it would be hypocritical and immoral to look the other way today when the same is done to women anywhere in the world.”
