Kim Kardashian West Helps Afghanistan Youth Development Team Fly to London for Safety

Kim Kardashian West and her SKIMS brand chartered a flight to the United Kingdom for members of the Afghan women’s youth development soccer team and their families Thursday. 

The plane took around 130 people from Pakistan to the U.K., where the families will settle after fleeing Afghanistan. The youth development team is among several female athletes to flee Afghanistan, including the country's senior women's football team.

In September, the Taliban government announced women would be banned from playing sports, leading to fears for the safety of anyone who defied the ruling. 

"The Afghan female footballers are well-known figures in the country. Their lives were in great danger because of people in the country who opposed their activism and wanted to stop their sport and educational activities," Khalida Popal, a former captain of the Afghan women’s national team, told The Associated Press.

Premier League soccer club Leeds United will be supporting the players after their arrival. The Afghanistan youth team worked with Tzedek Association, whose founder, Rabbi Moshe Margaretten, got into contact with Kardashian West and informed her of the situation. 

Margaretten said Kardashian West, who has become a criminal justice advocate in recent years, offered to pay for the flight within an hour of being contacted.