Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Sar-e-Pol: Football indeed brings hope in Afghanistan especially for its women and children, Afghanistan Football Federation Vice President Mohammad Yosuf Kargar has said.
Sheberghan city and Sar-e-Pol province recently hosted for the first time a grassroots programme in conjunction with the AFC Grassroots Year 2013 and AFC Grassroots Day which fell on May 15.
More than 300 children attended the events in the northern part of Afghanistan and 26 local teachers and trainers participated in a two-day grassroots seminar which was conducted by the AFF’s Grassroots Department, says a media release by the AFF.
The programme is designed to be implemented in seven zones in Afghanistan consisting of two days of seminars for the local trainers, school teachers and parents while the third day is dedicated to a festival as the programme concluder.
Afghanistan national players are a part of the initiative to bring more fans and garner interest providing a great chance to youth, girls and boys to have a good time in the beautiful game.
The programme involved both genders despite women still facing challenges in Afghanistan particularly in capital city Kabul but overall the initiative was well received by the people of the north Afghan state and was attended by government officials, the release further says.
The programme has smoothly finished in one zone and it will continue in the remaining zones.
“We are pleased to launch the first ever grassroots project in all over the country and bring hope again after the civil war in Afghanistan for the children and people," the release quotes Kargar as saying.
“The Afghanistan Football Federation showed that football is really a hope, we are working to make a united Afghanistan...therefore football is the only key to bringing a sustainable peace in the nation.”
An impressive climb of 48 positions to 141 in the latest FIFA World Ranking, a consistent increase in the amount of registered players, a newly created football league with teams from all regions of the country, and a wider recognition for women’s football stand out as the key features of Afghanistan’s promising football development, FIFA.com reported in April.
The development efforts in grassroots are set to take the Afghan game even higher in tandem with the AFC’s and its member associations’ special focus on the grassroots game this year.
Photo: AFF