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.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has said that their men’s team will not boycott their fixture against Afghanistan in the 2025 Champions Trophy. The statement comes in response to calls from a group of British politicians for England to boycott the match in protest against the ruling Taliban regime’s effective outlawing of women’s rights. England are due to face Afghanistan in Lahore on February 26 in their second match of the tournament.
England are already not playing any bilateral cricket with Afghanistan as a moral protest against the issue. The last ODI match between the two sides was in the 2023 World Cup where Afghanistan recorded a famous 69-run win over England. The England and Wales Cricket Board has been urged to boycott next month’s Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan, although UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called for the International Cricket Council to “deliver their own rules”.
Politicians urge ECB to boycott England’s Champions Trophy game vs Afghanistan as Sir Keir Starmer calls for ICC decision
The England and Wales Cricket Board has been urged to boycott next month’s Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan, although UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called for the International Cricket Council to “deliver their own rules”. A group of more than 160 politicians, including Nigel Farage, Jeremy Corbyn and Lord Kinnock, have signed a letter encouraging England to shun the game in Lahore on February 26 and take a stand against the Taliban regime’s assault on women’s rights.
Female participation in sport has effectively been outlawed since their return to power in 2021, a move that puts the Afghanistan Cricket Board in direct contravention of the rules of cricket’s governing body, the ICC.
ECB chief executive Richard Gould responded to the letter, which was penned by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, saying that “a coordinated, ICC-wide approach would be significantly more impactful than unilateral actions by individual members.”
That stance has been backed by Downing Street with the PM’s spokesman saying: “The ICC should clearly deliver on their own rules and make sure that they’re supporting women’s cricket as the ECB do. ECB chief executive Richard Gould has said that while its policy on bilaterals continues to be the same, it will be playing Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy as the tournament is an ICC event.
England Cricket Board(ECB) chairman Richard Thompson confirms match against Afghanistan will proceed as scheduled in Champions Trophy 2025
The ECB board has confirmed that England’s men will fulfil their fixture against Afghanistan at the Champions Trophy this month, despite describing the “appalling oppression” of women in the country as “gender apartheid”.
Richard Thompson, the ECB’s chairman, said in a statement following a board meeting on Thursday that a “coordinated international response” would achieve more than unilateral action. The board has come under political pressure to boycott the fixture, with more than 160 British politicians calling for England to pull out of the match in Lahore on February 26.
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.