UEFA president Michel Platini (centre) interacts with young Afghan footballers at Kabul Stadium yesterday.
DPA/Kabul
European football supremo and former France captain Michel Platini yesterday pledged support for the growth of Afghan football during a visit to the war-torn country.
“I think it was time to come and pay respect to the Afghan National Association ... I am very proud to be in Afghanistan,” the UEFA president Platini said.
“On behalf of the UEFA executive community and all the national association of the UEFA we are ready to help the Afghanistan national football association.”
Platini met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to offer the support of UEFA for the development of football in Afghanistan.
Platini said that while they were not allowed to give out money, they will provide support for young players program as well as training of the coaches and officials.
Platini also met with young players from the Afghanistan Premier League which is in its second season. The league features eight teams and players were chosen in a reality-based television show.
Platini’s visit to Afghanistan was a great moment for Afghan football history, Keramuddin Karim, the president of Afghanistan Football Federation, said.
Afghanistan was one of the founding member of the Asian Football Confederation in 1954 but suffered heavily due to three decades of war.
The national Ghazi Stadium was infamous for brutal punishments and public executions during the Taliban regime between 1996 and 2001, when most sports were banned. Football was allowed towards the end of their rule.
In recent years, Afghan football has started making some strides.
Afghanistan defeated India 2-0 to clinch the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship, a regional football competition, earlier this month, marking the first international trophy for the impoverished country.
The title moved Afghanistan up seven places in the FIFA world rankings, from 139 last month to an all-time high 132.
