CA remains cool on bilateral relations with Afghanistan while supporting Afghan women refugees

It remains to be seen whether Australia will play bilateral cricket against Afghanistan in the future after signing a partnership agreement with global children’s charity UNICEF Australia to promote the foundation’s “Until Every Girl Can Play” campaign aimed at gender equality. gender.

CA will hold fundraising events for UNICEF Australia at the upcoming Perth Test and women’s Ashes Test at the MCG in January, having been particularly vocal in not scheduling men’s bilateral cricket against Afghanistan outside of the World Cups due to stance of the Taliban government on women’s rights. CA has canceled three bilateral series with Afghanistan in recent years.

According to the Future Tours Programme, Australia will host Afghanistan in a men’s Test and three T20Is in July 2026. It remains to be seen if that goes ahead.

Hockley said CA continues to support a group of Afghan women cricketers living and playing in Australia. The group has asked the ICC to help them create a refugee team based in Australia in the absence of a national team.

“Certainly over the last three years, they’ve had great support from all levels of the cricket community, from club to state associations,” Hockley said at the MCG on Tuesday during the launch of the partnership with UNICEF.

“We’ve certainly looked for support behind the scenes. I’ve had the real privilege of meeting and spending some time with the players, and we’re certainly working behind the scenes on ways that we can continue to support them.”

UNICEF Australia executive director Tony Stuart was asked if CA should even take on Afghanistan’s men at world events.

“I stay out of the politics of this, because I think what has made UNICEF good at what it does is that it works with every country, 200 countries in the world, and to do that, you have to be neutral.” ” Stuart said.

“We are the children’s Red Cross, and what we encourage, wherever we are in the world, is participation. We will continue to encourage that in Afghanistan. And I must say, living in Australia, I am very happy to see so many Afghan women here in Australia and I hope that in the future they will have the opportunity in some way to participate in the game.

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