Afghan footballers and their families flown to Qatar

Qatar, in coordination with FIFA, has evacuated almost 100 footballers and their families from Afghanistan, officials in Doha confirmed.

The group was flown from Kabul to Doha on a flight that carried 357 passengers on Thursday, among them many women athletes involved in football in Afghanistan.

“Around 100 footballers & their families including female players are on board,” tweeted Lolwah Al Khater, Qatar's assistant foreign minister.

Qatar worked with FIFA to coordinate the evacuation of players, including some on the national team, who were taken to a compound with other evacuees to undergo coronavirus testing. It is unclear how long they will stay in Qatar.

It was Qatar’s eighth and largest passenger evacuation flight from Kabul since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in late August.

Upon arriving in Qatar, the passengers were transported to a compound facility currently hosting other Afghan civilians and evacuees in the west of Doha.