Afghanistan women's national team players got a "significant victory" on Tuesday when they were among a group of more than 75 people evacuated on a flight from Kabul.
Global players' union FIFPRO thanked the Australian government for making possible the evacuation of players, team officials & family members, with work continuing to help them leave Afghanistan.
"These young women, both as athletes & activists, are at risk & on behalf of their peers around the world, we thank the international community for their assistance," the union said in a statement.
The Afghan team was formed in 2007 in a country where women playing sports were seen as a political protest against the Taliban.
Players were advised this month to remove social media posts & photos of them with the team to help avoid retaliation since the fall of the United States-backed Afghanistan government.
"The last few days have been extremely tense but today we have achieved an important victory," said former team captain Khaleda Pople.
Pople joins a team of FIFPRO lawyers & consultants who have worked with authorities in six countries, including Australia, the US & the United Kingdom, to provide evacuation lists & flights to safety for athletes & their families.
"The women's football players have been brave & strong in this time of crisis & we hope that they will have a better life outside Afghanistan," Pople said. FIFPRO Secretary General Jonas Baer-Hoffmann said the evacuation was "an incredibly complex process".
"Our hearts are with all those people who are stuck in the country against their will," he said.