The culture and sport secretary has said England should be allowed to take part in next month's cricket match against Afghanistan despite calls for a boycott of the Taliban government's treatment of women.
Lisa Nandy has backed the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) decision to allow the tournament to go ahead, saying on Friday that canceling the tournament would “take away the opportunity that sports fans love”.
Pressure is mounting on MPs to cancel the tournament after the Taliban disbanded the Afghan women's cricket team and banned women from public spaces such as gyms, parks and hair salons.
Nandy told BBC Breakfast: “I do think it should go ahead. I'm instinctively very wary of boycotts in sport, partly because I think they can be counterproductive.
“I think they take away the opportunity for sports fans to love, and they can also severely punish athletes and people in sports who have worked very, very hard to get to the top of their game and then they are denied the opportunity to compete. They are not what we want because of the Taliban's targeting of women and The girl was punished for her appalling behavior.
She added that the UK would not be “rolling out the red carpet” at the event, saying: “I was very vocal when China hosted the Winter Olympics and many of us were very vocal in asking to make sure we didn't send dignitaries. “In that case, we didn't give them the PR coup they were looking for when they forcibly imprisoned Uyghurs in Xinjiang. “
England will play Afghanistan in Pakistan next month as part of the Champions Trophy. The ECB said it would not arrange a bilateral series against Afghanistan, but participation in international matches such as the Champions Trophy is a matter for the International Cricket Council (ICC).
ICC rules require member countries to have a women's team, but ICC members reportedly believe allowing a men's team to compete would help them influence the Taliban for good.
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Lawmakers nonetheless called on the government to put pressure on the ECB to withdraw from next month's tournament. Labor MP Tonya Antoniazzi asked the Prime Minister in the House of Commons this week: “Can he agree to meet with his counterparts in South Africa and Australia and ask them to boycott the Olympics as well?”
Keir Starmer refused to commit to such action, saying: “The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is liaising with our international counterparts on this issue. I welcome the England and Wales Cricket Board's decision on Afghanistan women's cricket The team made a strong case to the International Cricket Council.
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