Khalida Popal, Meta, and DFB received UEFA Equal Game Awards

Congratulations to Khalida Popal, founder and captain of Afghanistan’s women’s national football/soccer team, for receiving the Union of European Football Associations’ (UEFA) EqualGame Award.

Khalida Popal, Juan Meta, and the German Football Association (DFB) all received the Awards of UEFA Equal Game. This award is to celebrate their efforts in enhancing diversity and inclusion in football. Today (December 16), they were honored at the UEFA National League draw.

Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA President in his speed defined each one of these three winners of the award as an excellent example of how positive changes can football bring. He said that the winners can and must be proud of their success. He thanked the winners for their ideal work in leadership and hoped that they will inspire many others.

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Khalida Popal, 34 years old, left her native country (Afghanistan) ten years ago. She established and was the captain of the women’s national team in Afghanistan. After leaving her country, in refuge centers in Norway and Denmark, she made use of football to assist herself and other fellow women to handle stress, depression, and other hardships. In addition, she has established the Girl Power Organization, and she is also a representative of the Street Child World Cup. She has also put a great effort to assist in the evacuation and resettling of Afghan players after the collapse of the former Afghanistan government.

Juan Mata is a co-founder of the Common Goal established in 2017 of which goal is to bring positive changes in communities that are facing social challenges. making use of football’s power and popularity, the Common Goal aims to fight gender inequality, enhance inclusion, and provide more opportunities for lower-class and deprived children. He successfully made his fellow players assign one percent of their salaries to the project. The German Football Association (DFB) by its football for all programs, is devoted to providing a sound and inclusive environment that all can participate in the game. Amongst others, DFB is one of the football associations that supports refugees by providing opportunities for refugees, so they could play football under an inclusive program. The DFB also carries a leadership program to supply qualifications and join people with different backgrounds in the volunteer programs and their administration.

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