"Awista Ayub has movingly captured the indomitable spirit of Afghan women in this chronicle of brave girls who risked persecution and worse to pursue the dreams of ordinary childhood. In doing what they love most in life--playing soccer--the girls become emblems of the fight for equality and human rights under the Taliban. Their story reminds us that there is always hope and possibility for a brighter future--even in the wreckage left by war and conflict."

--Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Born in Kabul, Awista Ayub escaped with her family to the United States in 1981. She was inspired to start the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange after September 11, 2001, and in the summer of 2004, she brought eight Afghan girls to the United States for a soccer clinic. Fifteen teams now compete in the Afghanistan Football Federation, with hundreds of girls participating. In Kabul Girls Soccer Club , Awista tells both her own story and the moving stories of the eight original girls, how they found strength in each other, in teamwork, and in themselves--taking impossible risks to obtain freedoms we take for granted. This is a story about hope, home, and determination.