Afghanistan refuses to recognize women's team at 2024 Paris Olympics

Afghan authorities have refused to recognize the women's team at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Atal Mashwani, a representative of the country's sports administration, told the French newspaper Le Parisien.

Only three men are the official participants in the games because women's sports are currently banned in Afghanistan, Mashwani said.

“If women don’t play sports, how can they join the national team?” Mashwani asked. 

The International Olympic Committee said it had not contacted the Afghan authorities (the Taliban movement) and had not invited them to attend the Games.

It is noteworthy that the nominations for participation in the Olympics were only discussed with the leadership of the Afghan Olympic Committee in exile.

Afghan women are scheduled to compete in athletics and cycling, and men in judo, track and field and swimming.

Six athletes from Afghanistan, three women and three men, who live abroad will compete in the competition. The only one who lives in Afghanistan is a judoka.

The Afghan Olympic Committee, whose president and secretary general live in exile, is the “sole point of contact for the preparation and participation of the Afghan team,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said last month.