Afghanistan women's team launches football kit with world's first built-in hijab

The groundbreaking kit - released on International Women’s Day - is the first ever branded national strip to incorporate a hijab.

Hummel’s owner Christian Stadil said: "We don't sponsor the biggest teams in the world, but we make partnerships with teams and clubs with a story to tell, like Afghanistan.

"We try to meet the Afghan people where they are, and right now that is by helping the women play football with or without a hijab."

Khalida Popal - the hugely popular ex-captain of the Afghanistan women’s football team - helped design the kit.

She said: "The national team shirt symbolises all of our culture, our tradition, our history.

“It was a huge honour to captain my country but it was an even bigger honour to be seen as a role model and an inspiration for thousands of young girls and women in Afghanistan.

“To wear that shirt and to lead your country out onto the football pitch is something that stays with you forever."

- Dailystar