New Professional Football League Grips Afghans

After more than 30 years of war, extremism and ethnic infighting, Afghans might at last have found something that can unite them -- a passion for football.

Published

7 months ago

Categories

Sports, World

Topics

Pro Sports, Asia

Places

Afghanistan, Kabul, Kandahar

Transcript

SCRIPT: One last training session for this football team from western Afghanistan. In Kabul the next day, the players face the biggest match of their careers in the country’s first fully professional football league. SOUNDBITE 1 Jalil Ahmad Qarizada (man), football player for Storm of Harirod team, Herat, western Afghanistan (Dari, 18 sec): “It's a really special feeling for us that a football competition of an international-level standard is being held in Afghanistan. We are really happy to be taking part in the tournament.” The players took an unusual route to the top of their game. More than 20,000 candidates for the new league's eight teams were put through their paces on a reality TV show. Viewers voted by SMS for three players in each final squad. The show was a huge hit across the country, and matches have been packed with fans. For those without a ticket, each match of the month-long tournament is being aired live on national television for the very first time. SOUNDBITE 2 Said Shafir Gawari (man), commissioner, Afghan Premier League (English, 18 sec): “Afghans are very familiar with the name Zinedine, they are familiar with the name of Messi and a lot of other players who are playing in Europe. And that is what we also wanted to achieve, to show them the Afghan heroes, the Afghan football players and not just the foreign players.” The competition brings together players from different tribes, ethnicities and religions -- the hope is to unite fans across the country in a similar way. After years of war, extremism and ethnic fighting, Afghanistan may have found something everyone can rally around. SOUNDBITE 3 Abdul Hasib (man), football fan (Dari, 10 sec): “This is the first time in our country that teams from the provincial level are taking part in a competition and it is our job to support them.” Football was one of the few types of entertainment not banned by the Taliban. But they used the popularity of the game to carry out punishments and executions at half time during matches. Today, the sport is played in a spirit of hope -- though the spectre of war is never far away. SHOTLIST: KABUL, SEPT 20, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV -VAR of Storm of Harirod football team training before an Afghan Premier League (APL) match -SOUNDBITE 1 KABUL, UNKNOWN DATE, SOURCE: TOLO TELEVISION HANDOUT -- NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL PURPOSES -Footage from the ‘Green Field’ reality TV show which selected teams for the APL KABUL, SEPT 20, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV -VAR of people queuing outside the football stadium ahead of an APL match -VAR of fans waving tickets to the game as they enter the stadium -Young boys entering the stadium wearing football shirts of foreign teams KABUL, SEPT 18, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV -SOUNDBITE 2 -VAR of teams being introduced to the crowd before a match -Kick-off for an APL match KABUL, SEPT 20, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV -SOUNDBITE 3 -VAR of football match -Crowd cheering, including soldiers watching from behind the stadium wall -VAR wide views of match with military helicopters flying overhead /// -------------------------------------------------------------- AFP TEXT STORY FROM OCT 12, 2012: Fbl-AFG,FOCUS Football: New professional league grips Afghans by Joris Fioriti KABUL, Oct 12, 2012 (AFP) - After more than 30 years of war, extremism and ethnic infighting, Afghans might at last have found something everyone can agree on -- a passion for football. The Afghan Premier League (APL), the country's first fully professional competition, is reaching its climax, with the final next Friday, after a month of gripping the war-torn nation from the presidential palace to the ordinary worker. Created from scratch by lovers of the beautiful game and given financial backing by some of Afghanistan's biggest companies, the APL has burst into Afghan life with a mix of big ambitions and a little chaos. If there were any doubts about fans' willingness to go to matches in a country where Taliban bombings have targeted large gatherings in the past, the first match on September 18 quickly dispelled them. A huge crowd stormed the gates of the Afghan Football Federation stadium in Kabul, and police resorted to lashing out with their rifle butts to maintain order. They all ended up getting inside, almost completely filling the ground's 3,500 seats to see Maiwand Atalan (Maiwand Heroes) dispatch Shaneen Asmayee (Asmayee Eagles) 3-1. The faithful on the terraces were not the only ones to enjoy the match -- all the APL fixtures have been shown live on two channels, with commentary in Afghanistan's two main languages. Afghanistan had a league before the APL but it was little known and not broadcast -- a far cry from the banks of TV cameras following every kick and tackle of the new tournament. And the APL's connection to television goes beyond live matches. A reality show, "Maidan Sabz" (Green Field), let fans get involved in the selection process for their local team and turn Sunday footballers into professionals -- albeit modestly paid ones. "The show got a fantastic reception. We had 3,000 to 4,000 candidates" for each of the eight teams representing the country's main areas, said producer Mokhtar Lashkari. Viewers watched as the would-be stars raced in the mud, jumped with weights on their feet and were grilled by psychologists. All the staples of reality TV were there. The tales of woe: "My dad wanted to be a footballer but he never made it. I want to fight for his dream." The vacuous pep talks: "Up to now, you've played for yourselves. Now you're playing for the team." Even a sort of confessional, where players divulged their hopes and fears to the camera. After seeing the players put through their paces, viewers voted by SMS for which three players should join the 15 chosen by coaches for each of the eight teams. The lucky ones are from all ethnic groups, an important factor in a country where friction between different peoples has long been a cause of violence. APL commissioner Said Shafir Gawari told AFP he was proud of what they had achieved in a country ravaged by more than 30 years of war and said the league offered hope for the future. "A big part of the Afghan population are young people. They're under 25. We would like to bring our message to the majority of Afghans, and to the world, that Afghans can play together, we have teams composed of different tribes," he said. All the APL games are being played in Kabul to try to minimise the security risk, and the tournament has even had the blessing of the Taliban. "In Kandahar, we had a filming going on. A high member of the insurgency came to the crew saying that they would not disturb the project as it's good for the country," said Chris McDonald, an adviser to the APL. Football was one of the few types of entertainment not banned by the Taliban during their 1996-2001 rule. The Islamists took advantage of the popularity of the game to carry out punishments and executions at half time during matches. Whether it can help heal the wounds caused by decades of war remains to be seen, but for now the APL's popularity is evidence that the distraction it brings is very welcome. END