“Sometimes we have not a good situation for playing,” says Abulfazil, who was part of an Afghan women’s sports delegation that made a recent State Department visit to the US, including a stop in Boston. “After an explosion, we don’t stop our playing. We still continue our football.”

For Hajar Abulfazil, a player on the Afghanistan national women’s soccer team, this is a painful reminder of civil war in her country.

When the Boston Breakers score a goal during a home game at Harvard’s Jordan Field, a smoke grenade is detonated behind the goal.

The delegation was made up of athletes, coaches, and business leaders in soccer, taekwondo, cricket, and fitness.


The challenges faced by the Afghan women made the Breakers’ troubles seem trivial. The Boston entry in the National Women’s Soccer League started the season 0-5, not scoring a single goal in those games. On May 22, they had to play the two-time defending league champions from Kansas City.

Hours before game time, several Breakers had a heart-to-heart talk with members of the Afghanistan delegation. After hearing about the obstacles they overcame, all of a sudden Kansas City didn’t look so tough.

The Breakers went out and won the game, 1-0, and midfielder McCall Zerboni even gave the Afghans credit for helping them.

“There was a good energy within the group,” said Zerboni. “We got some perspective from the Afghanistan national team and the women who traveled over here, and it just kept the good vibes rolling.

“It’s about being appreciative about doing what we love. And when we do what we love, we perform well.”

Afghan captain Frozan Tajali (wearing green hijab) helped root the Breakers on to their first victory of the season. stan grossfeld/globe staff

During their pregame chat, Zerboni told the women to aim high.

“When I was 7 years old, I woke up one morning and told my mom I wanted to be a professional soccer player,” said Zerboni. “At that time, there was no league, there was no women’s professional soccer. But that was me creating a dream.


“It all starts with a dream, and then it’s persistence.”

The Afghan women talked about “the mind-set of society ” that makes playing sports difficult for women in their country. But they are moving forward.

“We are hoping to leave something, a legacy for our next generation, especially for our girls that they look and then follow our footsteps,” says a member of the delegation through an interpreter.

Things are better than they were. During the Taliban reign, women were not allowed to go to school or even go into the street unaccompanied. According to Abulfazil, women were not allowed to play any sport before 2004.

“Now our security is not very good but we can play sports,” she says.

Breakers assistant coach Cat Whitehill told the Afghan women to stick together.

“You are all coming together as very empowered women, you have the goal to be the front-runner for women, and I think it’s so neat and I want to encourage you,” she says. “You all inspired me today.’’

Breakers midfielder McCall Zerboni embraced a member of the Afghan delegation. stan grossfeld/globe staff/Globe Staff

The Afghan women’s two-week trip included visits to Boston, Washington, D.C., Colorado Springs, and Los Angeles, where they took in a WNBA Sparks game.

The players will soon be getting specially developed one-piece hijabs, or headwear, which will be lighter and more modern while upholding Islamic modesty. Helping to develop them was Khalida Popal, former captain of the women’s national team, who fled to Denmark in 2011 after death threats.


Popal was captain of the first Afghanistan national team in 2007. Frozan Tajali is the current captain. She has been playing soccer for only eight years.

“I did have some resistance from my family,” Tajali says, “because they were not that much open for the idea for me being away from home.”

But it was better than having stones thrown at her or being called a prostitute, which happened in the past.

The Afghan national team is ranked 130th in the world by FIFA and just added former US national team member Kelly Lindsey as head coach. Tajali said the number of women playing soccer in the country is increasing dramatically.

But a recent New York Times report said that women’s sports in Afghanistan are “riddled with corruption” and undermined by conservatives “who have never liked the idea of young women on sports fields.”

While Tajali was being interviewed, a teammate quietly came over and in her native tongue told her to keep the message positive.

Tajali did not want to discuss politics. But she says the players are learning from their American sisters.

“There is not that much more discrimination than what American women felt at the beginning, when they were fighting for their freedom,” said Tajali. “Woman suffered in America, when they fought for their rights. In our constitution, we have rights for women.”

The Breakers and the Afghans pose for a combined team photo. stan grossfeld/globe staff/Globe Staff

The Afghan women said they were empowered by what they saw in Boston. But they also learned that the Breakers, who are in their fourth year, are the only franchise to survive three women’s professional soccer leagues.


“Once you get there, it’s still not all rainbows and butterflies,” Zerboni tells them. “But if you commit to grow the sport in your country, it will eventually get there.”

Afterward, a beaming Abulfazil told her hosts she is “very, very happy.”

“Sports is bringing peace,” she says, “and we are athletes — men and women — who are bringing peace and making happiness.”

Stan Grossfeld can be reached at Stanley.grossfeld@globe.com.