HOUSTON – Imagine living in a country where you can play a sport freely—feeling the joy of kicking the ball or the wind as you pass it to your teammate—only to be taken away.
That was the reality for many women playing sports when the U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, which resulted in female athletes being targeted by the Taliban for simply playing a sport.
While some of the women did not survive, many escaped with help from international human rights organizations and sports communities and resettled around the world. After going through a rigorous refugee process, ten of the Afghan women resided in Houston in 2023, but could not play soccer in leagues for two years.
Before the team was founded in May 2025, Sarah Labowitz, volunteer manager of Houston Shine FC, met the young Afghan women at a Dash game. From that serendipitous meeting and through her own experience playing sports as a young girl in school and college, it was unfathomable to Labowitz that the women who escaped a dangerous situation couldn’t play soccer in America. Through her network of friends, community leaders and sports connections, they gathered soccer supplies like shoes and water bottles, found a field for practice and ultimately created an official team.
According to Labowitz, “The core of the team is all women who came out of Afghanistan, usually between 2021 and 2023. About half of those women had played in the Afghan Football Federation in their women’s program, which was this kind of incredible effort of about a decade where Afghanistan allowed and then expanded their women’s football program.”
The pitch isn’t the only place where players are scoring goals. Through community support and scholarships, the female players are striking out on their own by learning English, taking classes at community college and working to support themselves and family members living in Afghanistan.
All of this effort is a true testament to female empowerment—led by women volunteers who act as mentors and coaches, without assistance from big, formal sports institutions. Thanks to the volunteers and Coach Rachel Fabre—who has been part of the team since its founding—the Afghan women found happiness on the field again.
In just over a year, the team has grown with players from different countries like Mexico, France and Venezuela—forming an international league of their own. They’ll celebrate their first anniversary competing against another women’s team—with directions from Coach Fabre—on August 2 at Quillian Center on Westpark Dr. If you’re an early riser, you can cheer for Houston Shine FC at the game starting at 8:30 a.m.
Houston Shine FC is part of the Houston Women’s Soccer Association, which is also celebrating a milestone—its 50th anniversary.
Houston Shine FC practices weekly on Friday nights at Blue Ridge Park near Sam Houston Tollway. If you like to learn more about the team and help support its mission, visit houstonshinefc.org.
Meet the women of Houston Shine FC in the video above.