“This all had to happen very, very quickly. allies, and humanitarian groups, said Nic McKinley, a CIA and Air Force veteran who founded Dallas-based DeliverFund, a nonprofit that’s secured housing for 50 Afghan families. military and intelligence officials, U.S. The rescue mission, called Operation Soccer Balls, was coordinated with the Taliban through an international coalition of former U.S. In interviews with the AP this week, Muhtaj, members of the soccer team, some of their family members, and soccer federation staff, spoke about their final days in Afghanistan, the international effort to rescue them and the promise of their newfound freedom. Late Sunday, they landed in Lisbon, Portugal. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the girls, ages 14-16, and their families, had been trying to leave, fearing what their lives might become like under the Taliban - not just because women and girls are forbidden to play sports, but because they were advocates for girls and active members of their communities. “They can’t fathom that they’re out of Afghanistan.” “They left their homes and left everything behind,” Farkhunda Muhtaj, the captain of the Afghanistan women’s national team who from her home in Canada had spent the last few weeks communicating with the girls and working to help arrange their rescue, told The Associated Press.
