Bosses at a Doncaster city centre hotel which housed a women’s football team fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan has paid tribute, calling them “inspiring” and “courageous.”

The Mercure Danum Hotel in the High Street took in the asylum seeking team in 2021.

The group of junior female footballers said they felt ‘newly born’ after arriving in the UK and relaunching their love for the game in Doncaster.

Players from the country’s women’s development team revealed how they faced beatings, death threats, bomb blasts and were scared for their futures after the murderous regime returned to power in the Middle Eastern state.

Afghanistan footballer Najma Arefi, who was housed at Doncaster's Danum Mercue Hotel, says 'we are still here and are still fighting' (Photo: Sky News).

placeholder image — Afghanistan footballer Najma Arefi, who was housed at Doncaster's Danum Mercue Hotel, says 'we are still here and are still fighting' (Photo: Sky News).

The women relaunched their football careers in the UK, training at various locations across Doncaster.

A spokesperson for the hotel described their stay as an “inspiring moment” and added: “We were truly honoured to welcome a group of courageous Afghan women footballers to our hotel, athletes who fled their homeland after the Taliban’s return in 2021 and are now striving to secure their places on the newly formed Afghan refugee team.

“As defender Najma Arefi shared: “It was like a warm hug for every single one of us… we are still here and are still fighting.”

“Their story, recently featured by Sky News, is one of hope, resilience, and the unifying power of sport.

“At Mercure Doncaster Centre, we are proud to have been a safe space for these incredible women as they continue their journey, chasing dreams beyond adversity.”

Talking to Sky, Arefi said: "Everything collapsed overnight, and it was like a nightmare. Some of my friends back home, they're saying a dog on the street has more rights than a woman."

Like Arefi, goalkeeper Elaha Safdari ended up in Doncaster after fleeing as a 17-year-old without her family. The only memento from home - her goalkeeper of the year trophy from the Afghan championship.

But discrimination was felt where she once found so much joy - football - as she searched for a club in England.

"I felt racism, they attacked me," she said. "I'm a refugee, I accept that, but I'm here.

"I had to start from zero and I'm just a human who had to leave a country just to stay alive."

Earlier this year, speculation about the hotel still being used to house asylum seekers was quashed by the Home Office.

The Danum was included on a list of more than 200 hotels ‘confirmed’ to be housing refugees that had been copied and shared across social media.

But while the hotel was initially used to house asylum seekers from Afghanistan, the hotel is no longer being used for that purpose and has re-opened to guests.

The High Street hotel was first used in November 2021 but refugees have now settled into new homes in Doncaster, the Free Press understands.