Football fans around Afghanistan are still celebrating the Afghanistan National Football Team’s victory in advancing to the next qualifying round of the 2019 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup, thanks to their performance in a series of matches exclusively broadcast on Ariana Television Network.
To keep the excitement going, read on for seven fun football facts about Afghanistan’s beloved national team.
Name
Officially referred to as the Afghanistan National Football Team, the team is more popularly known by its handful of nicknames. The most common, widely used both by team supporters and by the media, is “the Lions of Khorasan.” “Khorasan” refers to a historical region in the northeast region of Persia, which covered part of what is now present-day Afghanistan. The team is also called “the Lions of Afghanistan” and “Melli Poshan.”
Early history
Image courtesy Wikipedia
The national team was originally formed in 1933, followed quickly by the establishment of the country’s first two football clubs: Mahmoudiyeh F.C., founded in 1934, and Ariana Kabul F.C., founded in 1941. The national team played its first international match in August 1941 against British India; the match took place at Ghazi Stadium in Kabul, and the final score was 3-1 for India.
As of 1948, the national team has been affiliated with FIFA; that same year saw Afghanistan play its first FIFA international match against Luxembourg as part of the 1948 Summer Olympic Games in London, England. In 1954, the Afghanistan Football Federation, the governing body of Afghan football and the overseer of the national team, became one of the founding members of the Asian Football Confederation, which today has 47 members located on the Asian and Australian continents.
Kit
Since 2009, the kit for the Afghanistan National Football Team has been supplied by Hummel, a Danish sportswear brand. Hummel is currently under contract with the team until 2019. The team’s first colors are a full red kit, with a full white kit as second colors.
Stadium
Afghanistan hosts major football matches at Kabul’s Afghan Football Federation Stadium, more popularly known as Ghazi Stadium, which was built in 1923 during the reign of King Amanullah Khan, who is celebrated by Afghans as “ghazi,” or hero, for leading Afghanistan to victory in the Third Anglo-Afghan War. Ghazi Stadium hosted its first international football match in 1941—Afghanistan vs. Iran, which ended in a 0-0 draw. More recently, the stadium served as the venue for the second leg of the national team’s qualification matches in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Completely renovated in 2011, the stadium holds 25,000 spectators and frequently hosts Afghan Premier League tournaments.
Players
The Afghan squad is made up of dozens of players, the majority of whom are attached to professional clubs either locally or internationally, including clubs in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands. At just 19 years of age, defender Qesmat Ahmadi is one of the squad’s youngest players, while midfielder Ahmad Hatifi is among the oldest at age 30. The last 12 months have also seen over 20 players called up to the Afghanistan squad for specific matches, including players attached to clubs in Australia and India.
Coach
Image courtesy Wikipedia
The Afghanistan National Football Team’s current head coach is Petar Segrt, a Croatian-born German coach and a former defender. After a knee injury ended his career as a player at the age of 27, Segrt qualified for his first coaching license and began his coaching career. After many years coaching youth football in Germany, he served on the coaching staff for clubs in Georgia, Indonesia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The head coach of the Afghan team since 2015, Segrt is known for his well-organized coaching style and his ability to communicate clearly and effectively with players while maintaining a strong sense of authority and leadership.
Notable recent matches
It’s not necessary to look too far into the past to find a recent Afghanistan match that had the whole country cheering. On March 29, 2016, Afghanistan defeated Singapore by a score of 2-1 in a qualifier match for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. While the win was not enough to secure Afghanistan a World Cup position, it did earn the team a place in the next qualifying stage for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. This victory against Singapore was a major triumph for the team, which had previously suffered a serious loss to Japan in an earlier World Cup qualifying match, and was struggling to advance to the next round of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.
Supporters of the Lions of Afghanistan were especially pleased with the team’s victory given the other unfortunate defeat the team experienced earlier this year. In the 2015 South Asia Football Federation championship, Afghanistan lost the final match 2-1 to India. However, despite this loss, they nevertheless put on an impressive performance, winning the hearts of fans and earning a strong sense of achievement that clearly carried them through to their latest success in qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup.