Building Foundations – Football in Afghanistan (Part Three)

There were eight competitions held across Afghanistan where players competed to represent their region on their Premier League representative.

A panel from the Football Federation whittled down a huge field of applicants in each region to the best 21. Then the audience voted by phone or internet for the best 18. That 18 would make up the team for that region.

This essentially gave a series of Trial Days for the Football Federation to look at the footballing talent in their country which would have gone unnoticed otherwise. The players outside of Kabul got their real first chance and now are playing professionally with the chance that outside leagues may take notice.

There’s also a feeling within the league that it will promote national unity. Competition on the field will take the place of violent clashes between the various ethnic groups in the country.

Abdul Sabor Walizada, who is a former player for the Afghan National Team, was involved with the show and had this to say, “It will create national unity because if the central zone, for example, has a really good player, the southern zone team will want to buy him,” he explained. “They will not care about his ethnicity. They will not care about his tribe. They will care that he is one of the best players.”

The first season of the Afghan Premier League was met with a huge amount of excitement from people all over the country. The league enjoys an agreement with TOLO, one of the largest TV stations in Afghanistan, as well as the ability to stream every game live on Youtube.

This is fantastic as anyone can watch with access to a TV or internet, which grows in this country every day. In the end, Toofan Harirod FC (Harirod Storm) who represent the Western Afghan Province of Herat, won the league, defeating Simorgh Alborz FC (Alborz Swans), who hail from the Northeast Provinces near the Alborz Mountains, in the final.

Players participating in Afghan Premier League practice in Kabul

The team from near my area of operations during my deployment is De Maiwand Atalan (Maiwand Champions). They represent Kandahar Province. Maiwand is a district north of Kandahar City, the provincial capital, and it’s a place that is very famous to many Afghans. From the teams description on the official website:

Maiwand is a village north of Kandahar city, and is famous in Afghanistan because this is where great victory occurred where the Afghan forces defeated the British Empire in the Second Anglo-Afghan War.

The Battle of Maiwand, on 27 July 1880, saw the forces of Ayub Khan defeat the great British Army in a battle that demoralized the British at the time. The battle was not going well initially for the Afghans but the now legendary Malalai took up the flag and sang “Young love! If you do not fall in the battle of Maiwand, By God, someone is saving you as a symbol of shame!”. Thereafter, despite Malalai’s own death at the battle, the Afghans were spurred to defeat the British at Maiwand.

So even when they are being sporting, Afghans are a people accustomed to war. However, with the help of the Afghan Premier League, things are looking up for the nation, who are building their sporting future in front of our eyes.

Hopefully, the animosity that exists can transform from ethnic or tribal lines to rivalries between teams. Now, De Maiwand Atalan may never be as popular as Barcelona, but hopefully the Premier League and the Afghan National Team can give this country and people like Johnny something to be proud of.

Part I: Crumbling Foundations

Part II: Rebuilding foundations – The Lions of Khorasan