Afghanistan launches football league

Players to be selected on a reality television show

KABUL: Afghanistan launched its first professional football championship with the ambitious goal of bringing peace to the war-torn country and with teams to be chosen on a ground-breaking reality television show.

Thousands of young Afghans have already applied to take part, with the members of each of the eight teams to be selected on the ‘Maidane Sabz’ programme. It will be the first Afghan football championship to be broadcast on television. Previous amateur competitions have involved little-known players and failed to capture the public’s imagination.

“To establish peace and stabilise a country, one must not only focus on training soldiers,” said Afghanistan Football Federation President Keramuddin Karim. “Sport is also a strong base for peace, as it embodies values such as unity, integration and pride.”

The tournament, which will be played in September and October, will involve group and knockout stages with matches broadcast on Afghanistan’s two main TV channels.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 12^th, 2012.