(AP) For weeks, the Afghanistan national girls soccer team had been waiting for word they could leave.

On Sunday, the message finally came. The girls and their families boarded a charter flight from Afghanistan to Portugal, which has granted them asylum.

Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the girls, ages 14-16, and their families, had been trying to leave.

They feared what their lives might become like under the Taliban, who forbid women and girls from playing sports.

All of the girls say they hope to one day become professional soccer players as adults.

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