Awista Ayub is a Changemaker

Awista Ayub founded the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange, an organization dedicated to nurturing Afghan girls through soccer.

She had thrived as a young soccer player living in exile in the United States during the rule of the Taliban. After the Taliban fell, she saw an opportunity to return to her home country and share her passion for sports as a way for girls to flourish. Today, hundreds of girls compete on 15 soccer teams in the Afghan Footbal Federation. She chronicles her story and her founding of the organization in her book, However Tall the Mountain.

Awista was a Featured Commentator in the Gamechangers: Change the Game for Women in Sport competition.