Members of the Afghanistan women´s youth development football team have been flown to the UK in a migration flight financed by US star Kim Kardashian.
The 35 female footballers and their families, a total of 130 individuals, reached at Stansted Airport, east of London, in the early hours of Thursday morning, as per the ROKiT Foundation.
The group had been in Pakistan on short-term 30-day visas since fleeing from Afghanistan after a seizure of the country by the Taliban.
But a charter flight took them to the UK, where they will live for 10 days of a coronavirus quarantine in a hotel before beginning with their new lives.
A representative for Kardashian, told Britain´s PA news agency the flight was backed by her and her SKIMS brand.
Siu-Anne Gill, chief executive officer of the ROKiT Foundation which assisted bringing together the footballers´ escape from Afghanistan, said she was “extremely humbled by the courage shown by these girls”.
“That´s inspired us to ensure that their efforts in getting over the border don´t go to waste,” she added.
Leeds United are among the organizations proposing to help the footballers who have reached England, with Andrea Radrizzani, the owner of the Premier League football club, mentioning in a statement: “We are delighted the Afghan Women & Girls Development Football Team and their families, led by their brave, former captain Khalida Popal have landed safely in the UK, following extensive efforts by a number of partners.
