LONDON — The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed that England’s scheduled match against Afghanistan in the Champions League will go ahead as planned, despite calls for a boycott over Afghanistan’s lack of a women’s cricket team.
According to the BBC, the ECB held a meeting on Thursday after nearly 200 British politicians signed a cross-party letter urging England to withdraw from the match in protest of the Taliban’s human rights record. However, the board decided that the game, set to take place in Lahore on Feb. 26, will proceed as scheduled.
Since the Taliban regained power in 2021, women’s participation in sports in Afghanistan has been effectively banned. Critics have described the situation as gender apartheid.
In a statement, the ECB acknowledged the severity of the issue, calling the Taliban’s repression of women and girls “horrific” and stating that the ban on women’s cricket in Afghanistan was “deeply upsetting.” However, the board argued that a coordinated response from the global cricket community would be a more effective approach than boycotting individual matches.
“While women’s and girls’ cricket is growing rapidly worldwide, it is heartbreaking that girls in Afghanistan are being denied this opportunity,” the ECB said. “But the Taliban’s brutal suppression of women and girls extends far beyond cricket.”
The ECB also announced a £100,000 ($126,500) donation to the Global Refugee Cricket Fund to support female Afghan cricketers in exile. It added that it would continue to press the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take action, including supporting women who wish to play the sport.
England will also compete against Australia and South Africa in the Champions League, which begins on Feb. 19 in Pakistan and Dubai.
Afghanistan’s schedule in the tournament is as follows:
Feb. 21: Afghanistan vs. South Africa
Feb. 26: Afghanistan vs. England
Feb. 28: Afghanistan vs. Australia
The decision to proceed with the match underscores the ongoing debate over how the international sports community should engage with Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
