Sport
The sports in Afghanistan are run by the Afghan Sports Federation, which promotes football, cricket, basketball, volleyball, golf, handball, boxing, taekwondo, track and field, bowling, skating, chess, and other sports among men. It is illegal for women to participate in sports or attend sporting events.
Cricket and football are the most popular sports in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan national cricket team, which was formed in 2001, has held matches against all other international cricket teams. The Afghan team rapidly rose through the World Cricket League since early 2008. It participated in the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier, 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division One, and 2010 ICC World Twenty20 where they played India and South Africa. The team won the ACC Twenty20 Cup in 2007, 2009, and 2011. It played against top ranking teams in the 2012 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup and the 2012 ICC World Twenty20. In the national level, cricket matches are played between provinces, mainly between the south and eastern provinces of the country. In the other sports, Afghans usually play with challengers of neighboring states and sometimes with other Asian countries.
The Afghanistan national football team was founded in 1922, joined FIFA in 1948 and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1954. Although it did not play in any international games from 1984 to 2003 due to the war, it is now striving and hoping to make it to FIFA. The Afghanistan women's national football team was formed in 2007. The Ghazi Stadium, which was built during the reign of King Amanullah Khan, was once used for a venue for public executions by the Taliban government. The stadium is currently used mostly for football matches between teams from different provinces of the country as well as neighboring countries. Basketball has existed in Afghanistan since at least the 1970s, and is slowly becoming popular again. It is played by both Afghan men and women. Additionally, Afghans in the north of the country enjoy the sport of buzkashi.
Read more about this topic: Culture Of Afghanistan
Famous quotes containing the word sport:
“For generations, a wide range of shooting in Northern Ireland has provided all sections of the population with a pastime which ... has occupied a great deal of leisure time. Unlike many other countries, the outstanding characteristic of the sport has been that it was not confined to any one class.”
—Northern Irish Tourist Board. quoted in New Statesman (London, Aug. 29, 1969)