£36,000 for Afghan v Pakistan ‘friendly’ match... that made rivalry worse
FOREIGN Office aid money was used to sponsor a ‘friendship football match’ between Afghanistan and Pakistan – which may have actually increased rivalry in the region.
The game, which cost £36,000 to stage, was aimed at ‘building confidence and positive sentiments between young Afghani and Pakistani sportsmen and women’.
But for some Afghan supporters it reinforced their antagonism towards their neighbours, and one claimed he was encouraged to cheer on his country by Taliban insurgents. Afghanistan won the match, played in Kabul in 2013, 3-0.
The BBC, who covered the occasion, reported that many Afghans saw it as ‘a sweet victory over an old and bitter adversary’.
Shabir Ahmad, 27, an Afghan government employee, told the BBC: ‘I am a huge football fan, and this match was so important for us There are a lot of rivalries between Afghanistan and Pakistan, even if this match was meant to boost friendship.’
Another supporter, Ahmadzai Fazeli, 25, claimed that Taliban insurgents at a roadblock in volatile Wardak province had wished the team success.
‘On the way here the Taliban stopped me. I told them I was going to the football match, and they happily let me pass. Now I am here feeling very patriotic and happy.’
Football was not banned during the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan, but during their time in power they used the stadium in Kabul as a venue for executions and mutilations. Before this game, Afghanistan had not played in the city since 2003 and last played against Pakistan there in 1977.
Sayed Aghazada, secretary general of the Afghanistan Football Federation, said the match showed that Afghanistan ‘was returning to normality’. He added: ‘Afghan football has improved in organisation and infrastructure, and we now believe that football can play an even bigger role in
our country.’