Manozh Noori

My name is Manozh Noori, I’m 21 years old, I was born in 2003 in Kabul, Afghanistan and I’m now living in Australia. I lost my dad when I was really young, who passed away for unknown reasons. I was raised by my mother and my sister among my strict brothers and relatives, who tried to ban me from being a soccer player. At the beginning of my sporting career, I played basketball. When I was in primary school, there were no soccer grounds, and there were no opportunities to play soccer, so I had to join basketball to be able to play some sport. I used to try and play soccer with boys on streets that were away from our house, so as not to be seen by my brothers and my relatives, even though I was only 8 or 9 years of age. My family and my relatives hated sport and they did not know that I was playing soccer with the boys. I used to dress up like a boy just to get involved with them - it was the only way I could play when I was kid.

A few years later, I was able to join our school senior soccer team, but I still couldn’t tell my family, except my sister and later my mother, but they still found out. I was threatened by them, and they tried to stop me studying as a punishment, but my mother and sister stood strong with me; they kept me strong and stable, and able to carry on playing.

I carried on working hard, and tried to direct my passion into more training, and the school team I was playing for began winning more; I was recognised as the best player and managed to become the best female scorer at the time in the Kabul school senior soccer league. I did not know that Afghanistan had the Afghanistan women’s national soccer team, or that there were any female teams like that, but after I watched some videos on TV and I heard about Afghanistan women’s team which have soccer activities in Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF), then I explained to my elder sister about how interested and passionate I was for joining women’s soccer team.

At first my sister was scared of getting even more threats, and we discussed it many times but she was too scared to help, so I spent a lot of time looking for a club before eventually findingTawana Ladies soccer team. I joined the club on a trial basis, and but it only took joining on the first day of training to be accepted by the club - it was a really good session. I played and won Futsal tournaments, where my street football was very useful, and the Kabul Champions League. It was going so well that I was then invited to play for Sangar ladies football team.We won the Kabul league and the Afghanistan Women’s Champions League, and I was won best player and best goal scorer a few years in row by Afghanistan football federation (AFF). After that, I played for Royal Kabul FC and I won the same titles again. I then formed Noori Sport ladies football team with a few of my friends.

For all of the 6 years since I left school at this point, I wore a mask to cover my face so as not be seen by my brothers and my relatives, because a lot of my games and tournaments were broadcast on TV, or were published about on social media and in the news. That was the only way I could keep playing. 

In 2017, I was invited by the Afghanistan women’s national football team, and as I was at the beginning of my career, I proudly accepted the invitation. I used to train with the national team and really enjoyed it, but because of the issues and threats of relatives, and because of the general attitude in society, I quit the national team. It was too much stress. I got invited again in 2020, so I talked to my family and I had friends who supported me and encouraged me to talk about my decision to join the national team. I decided to accept again and give it another go, but I kept playing without telling anyone except my mother and my sister again, who had always supported me. 

I travelled with the Afghanistan Women’s National Team to Tajikistan to play in the Asian Women’s Championship Cup, but after we got back from Tajikistan to Afghanistan on August 15th 2021, the Taliban had started taking over Afghanistan, and so we were all banned from playing and threatened. I was scared for my life because of my relatives, those who were against me for years, whether they knew I was playing soccer, even though I had tried my best to hide it. I had no hope, I was lost and I was frightened about the situation that happened so suddenly, and that brought huge and unlimited darkness in my life. 

I just did not expect the Taliban to take control of Afghanistan like they did, it was impossible to imagine. I spoke to Khalida Popal regarding the situation we were all going through, and she promised to help us, and try and evacuate us from Afghanistan. We then received letters of evacuation support from Australia through the help and cooperation of Khalida Popal, Craig Foster and many others. 

I have always had a strong passion and a dream of becoming a professional soccer player; I have never thought about quitting and have never given up on my dreams, no matter what has happened. I believed and worked hard and I kept going and this sport, my dream, saved my life because of the fearlessness that it gave me. I’m alive and I am now living in a peaceful environment. I now play at Craigieburn City Football Club in the State League One.