MCC Launches Global Refugee Cricket Fund to Support Afghan Women Cricketers

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), based in London, announced on Friday that it has launched the Global Refugee Cricket Fund.

According to the club, members of the Afghanistan women’s national cricket team living abroad will be the first beneficiaries of this financial support.

Following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, severe restrictions on sports and education forced hundreds of Afghan female athletes to leave the country.

Most Afghanistan women’s cricket team members, who relocated to Australia, gathered in Melbourne on Thursday to play in a charity match, their first game together since fleeing Afghanistan.

This marked the first Afghan female cricketers played competitively since the Taliban takeover.

The team hopes that their match against the Cricket Without Borders women’s team in Melbourne will prepare them for participation in official international competitions.

According to MCC, the newly launched campaign aims to raise funds for the ‘Pitch Our Future’ initiative. Led by Australia, this program provides Afghan female cricketers living abroad with access to training facilities and educational opportunities.

The fund’s initial goal is to raise 1 million pounds (approximately $1.2 million) through contributions from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), private sponsors, government support, and other international cricket boards.

MCC, which owns Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, described the initiative as a significant step in supporting displaced athletes.

MCC Secretary and Chief Executive Guy Lavender called establishing the global refugee cricket fund an essential and positive development, emphasizing that the initiative demonstrates how cricket can be a force for meaningful and constructive change.

Clare Connor, Deputy Chief Executive of the ECB and former captain of England’s women’s team, also strongly supported the effort. “The cricket community must stand by these courageous Afghan women to ensure that the dream remains alive that cricket can be a game for every woman and girl,” she stated.