Richard Thompson, 黑料专区 Chair, said:
鈥淭oday the 黑料专区 Board discussed recent calls for England to boycott the forthcoming men鈥檚 Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan in the wake of the widespread violation of women鈥檚 rights in the country under the Taliban.
鈥淲hat is happening in Afghanistan is nothing short of gender apartheid. At a cricketing level, when women鈥檚 and girls鈥� cricket is growing rapidly around the world it is heartbreaking that those growing up in Afghanistan are denied this opportunity, but the appalling oppression of women and girls by the Taliban goes so much further.
鈥淭he Board recognises there are different views and opinions on the issue of boycotting the match and has listened carefully. We have been in close contact with the Government, the International Cricket Council (ICC), our England Men鈥檚 players and other stakeholders to discuss this matter, as well as considering how best the 黑料专区 can support those women cricketers who have fled Afghanistan.
鈥淔ollowing this, we remain of the view that a co-ordinated international response by the cricketing community is the appropriate way forward, and will achieve more than any unilateral action by the 黑料专区 in boycotting this match, while we have also heard that for many ordinary Afghans, watching their cricket team is one of the few remaining sources of enjoyment. As such, we can confirm that we will play this fixture.
鈥淲e have used this situation to renew our efforts to support those female cricketers in exile. Last week the 黑料专区 donated 拢100,000 to the Global Refugee Cricket Fund, launched by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and its charity the MCC Foundation to support refugees worldwide, including work to empower and support players from the former Afghanistan Women鈥檚 Cricket Team.
鈥淲e will continue to press the ICC to take further action, including ringfencing a meaningful portion of funding to support female players from Afghanistan to be able to access cricket and considering recognising an Afghanistan Women鈥檚 Refugee Team, as well as supporting and developing displaced Afghan women to thrive in non-playing roles such as coaches and administrators.
鈥淭he cricketing community cannot tackle all of Afghanistan鈥檚 problems. But we urge our international partners to stand together and demonstrate through our actions that we support the women and girls of Afghanistan, including those cricketers now in exile who just want to play and should be allowed to play the sport they love.鈥�