Dribbling their way to the free world

Afghanistan is a country that has been battered by the wars for centuries shunning their sporting talents from the international stage. But with the defeat of the Taliban who ruled Afghanistan for many years under strict laws sports activities in Afghanistan is gradually back on the rise. First it was the Afghan cricketers who started to point out that they are on for a long journey ahead. They have proved it by reaching the ICC Twenty20 World Championships 2012 which will kick off next Tuesday in Sri Lanka.

And now the Afghan women who were severely suppressed during the Taliban regime have shown courage to break the silence. Participating in their second official international competition, the Afghanistan women’s football team managed to reach the semi-final of the SAFF Women’s Football Championship 2012, which will end today in Colombo.

For the young lasses who still have the fear behind their hearts of unforeseen threats from the Taliban, the achievement they reached in Colombo was greater than gaining sovereignty from suppression.

“Yes, it will be incorrect if I say we are not scared of possible backlashes back home from some groups who still remain in Afghanistan. But if we continue our struggle sans guns we are confi- dent that our mission to promote sports among women in Afghanistan would be victorious. We are proud as the first women’s sporting team from Afghanistan to have made the initiative for that,” said the beaming skipper of the Afghanistan women’s football team Zahra Mahmoudi.

The Afghanistan women’s national football team was formed in 2004 with a young bunch of selected school players from its capital Kabul and Mahmoudi who is 22 at present was also a member of the squad then. She had seen the team grow from strength to strength as they conquered the world of football to reach their greatest ever feat internationally.

With countries like Germany, America and Netherlands coming forward to help to build up the women’s football team Afghanistan are on the way of becoming a stronger outfit. As at today Afghanistan has 18 women’s football clubs and annually they hold two competitions from which the best players are drafted to the national stream. At 22 Mahmoudi is the oldest player in the side while the youngest in the team is just 15. According to Mahmoudi all these girls come from moderate families while this time the team has included several immigrant players based in America and Germany.

“Personally I don’t feel that happy when I travel to this part of the world. That’s because I’m sad that our country is still struggling to gain peace. We wish we could gain peace like Sri Lanka so our women could come out from their shells and be more active. But I’m happy for our girls for what we achieved here. We too have the right to play as other girls in the world. We love peace and we like to make new friends. By playing football we are fortunate to experience all of these,” Mahmoudi added.

At the SAFF Women’s Football Championship 2012 whish was their second international tournament, the Afghanistan girls came out with an improved show. In their first encounter against the much experienced Maldives women, the Afghans recorded a thrilling 1-all draw and went on to create waves by defeating Pakistan 4-nil. But the shocking 7-1 defeat against Nepal could not prevent them from entering the semi-final stage which was a significant milestone for the Afghanistan girls.

“Our men’s football team took 40 years to reach a SAFF final and they are presently placed second after emerging runners-up of the competition in Delhi last year. But the girls’ team is just eight years old and reaching the semifinal stage in the similar version is something encouraging. When we beat Pakistan last Monday (10) we got a call from our President Hamid Karzai who was keen to see more progress in women’s sport which is thriving despite minor pullbacks. The Afghanistan government encourages more women participants in sports and they are eager to see our women reach the international arena. What we achieved here in Sri Lanka will definitely encourage Afghan women in time to come,” expressed Ahmad Samir Bayat, the Media Officer for the team.

However the Afghanistan girls suffered a 4-nil defeat at the hands of much experienced India at the semi-final clash as they bowed down from the competition. But according to their coach Abdul Saboor Walizada the changes they faced throughout the period of eight years was rapid and effective. Before their participation in Sri Lanka, they played a friendly international match against Qatar and emerged victorious by 2-nil. In 2010 the Afghan girls made their international debut at the SAFF Championships in Dhaka, Bangladesh but the outcomes were not so cheering.

“The Dhaka competition was not so good for us. But being the first international competition it was a good experience for the girls. But here we have shown that with hard work and commitment goals can be achieved. Honestly it was my dream to see an Afghan women’s team reach this feat but I never wished it would come so soon. Eight years ago, relating football to a bunch of girls who was unfamiliar with the game was an enormous task. But today we are in a position to compete against any international side. We know that the future will be more challenging for the girls but we are determined to move on and conquer the world of football,” a delighted Walizada said.