Team Afghanistan: Black, Red and Green Strikes at the Olympics

Afghanistan’s Olympic team is balanced — three men and three women. The women will compete in track and field and cycling, and the men in track and field, swimming and judo. With the exception of the judoka, everyone lives outside the country. The team competes under the black, red and green flag and the anthem of the former Western-backed Islamic republic that was overthrown by the Taliban.

This is striking, in stark contrast to the brutal reality of the Taliban regime. But their government is not recognized by any other country, and the black-and-white Taliban flag is not visible on Afghan passports or on the jerseys of sports teams. This was already the case at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, where 17 athletes competed for Afghanistan—most of them volleyball players.

“The team does not represent the Taliban.”

But how did the Afghan teams come about – the one in Paris, for example? “The six athletes participating in Paris represent the Afghan National Olympic Committee and not the Taliban authorities,” the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in a statement to ORF.at. They had already worked with the Afghan National Olympic Committee (NOC) in previous years.

Contact person in exile

Background: Although the Taliban appointed Nazar Mohammad Mutamain as the head of the NOC in September 2021, the IOC does not consider him the contact person, but rather his predecessor Hafizullah Wali Rahimi, who lives in exile. According to the IOC, he and NOC Secretary General Mohammad Younus Popalzai, who also lives outside the country, “remain the IOC’s sole contact point for the preparation and participation of the Afghan Olympic team.”

Runner Youssef in the spotlight

And so it came to pass that three athletes are now competing in Paris, none of whom live in Afghanistan anymore. One of them is 100-meter runner Kimia Yousefi. She was the only athlete to compete for Afghanistan at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo and was also the flag bearer at the time. A week after the Tokyo Games ended, the Taliban occupied the presidential palace in Kabul – and thus seized power in the country.

“Stolen Dreams and Hopes”

Yousefi first went to Iran and has lived in Australia since 2022. When she was named to the Afghan Olympic team, she said she wanted to “defend the stolen dreams and hopes” of women in Afghanistan, according to a statement from the Australian federation. “For those who don’t have the power to make decisions as free people. They don’t even have permission to enter the park,” Yousefi was quoted as saying.

The women in Afghanistan’s Olympic selection are completed by two sisters: Yuldoz and Fariba Hashemi, cyclists who managed to flee to Italy when the Taliban came to power. Yuldoz Hashemi has been quoted by several media outlets as saying that her participation in the Olympics should show the world the strength of Afghan women. She wants to help these women become lucky and “make the three colors of Afghanistan shine.”

Part of the male athletes on the Afghan team is Shah Mahmood Noor Zahi – competing in the 100m. Noor Zahi fled the Taliban to neighbouring Iran. With the help of the International Olympic Committee, he trained with Iranian athletes. “I am proud to be the fastest man in Afghanistan,” he said earlier. While swimmer Fahim Anwari is training in Paris, Germany, judoka Faizada Mohammad Samim is the only athlete from Afghanistan to travel to Paris.

Taliban: No information about mathematics

From the Taliban's point of view, only the three male athletes represent Afghanistan: “We have no information that (Afghan female) athletes have been invited to these competitions,” the Directorate General of Physical Education and Sport said when asked by Ö1. “That's why we can't say anything about it – just this much: we wish the three athletes “good luck.” The IOC confirmed to ORF.at that no Taliban representatives will be accredited to Paris.

When asked why women’s sports are banned in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s sports office did not explain. Sport is a vehicle for social change, Samira Asghari told Ö1, offering a possible answer. She was the first Afghan woman to become a member of the International Olympic Committee; before that, she was a member of the National Olympic Committee. In her active sports career, she was a player and at one point also captain of the Afghan national basketball team.

Refugee Olympic Team with Afghan Participation

In addition to the three women competing on Team Afghanistan this year, other athletes from Afghanistan will compete in Paris – namely on the Refugee Olympic Team. The refugee team consists of 37 athletes, five of whom are originally from Afghanistan, including two women – competing in breakdancing and judo, while the male athletes participate in cycling and taekwondo.

This is the first time Afghanistan has sent a team to the Olympics since the Taliban returned to power, and no athletes were represented at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. At least two athletes competed for Afghanistan at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics amid the turmoil caused by the Taliban takeover, including taekwondo athlete Zakia Khodadadi.