Saturday January 18, 2014
Kabul (BNA) The Afghanistan Football Federation won the 2013 FIFA Fair Play Award at the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2013 soccer awards ceremony in Zurich, after hosting their first international match at home, a friendly against Pakistan, for 10 years in August.
Afghanistan had defeated Pakistan 3-0 in the friendly match played on August 20, 2013. Afghanistan, ranked at 139th in the world just above Pakistan, gave home fans little to worry about, dominating the game from the kick-off and going three goals ahead mid-way through the second half. After scoring two goals in the first half, Afghan striker Mohammad Maroof sealed victory with the third goals in the second. The match was promoted as a symbol of football’s ability to foster peace and unite countries in a shared love of sport, but the result was celebrated by many Afghans as a sweet victory over an old and bitter adversity.
FIFA Fair Play Committee member Tokyo Seexwale said at FIFA’s Ballon d’Or award ceremony in Zurich on January 13 that the Afghan federation had shown “Dedication and hard work to develop football at the grassroots level” and “Built the foundations for the game, nurturing a national league in the midst of violence and destruction. Seexwale said the Afghan federation “Against all odds” had “Opened up football to wider audience, including women and families,” and had helped “Ease regional tensions” by hosting its first international match against a neighboring country in nearly a decade. The award was presented to Afghan Football Federation President Keramuddin Karim by Jordanian Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, FIF vice president for Asia. Commenting on the topic, AFF chairman Keramuddin Karim said, “We had included Fair Play among our topmost working priorities over the recent years and Afghanistan football gained major achievements over the past few years, saying that the Award is a great national pride, because the country has suffered many tragedies over the last thirty year.”
“Today our football stands on a high stage in FIFA ranking and it’s a positive sign. “Afghanistan will also participate in Asian football league this year and our national team to face major rivals in the game such as Japan, but it’s we still has budget problems,” Mr. Karim added. This comes at a time that Afghanistan won the SAFF title last year by defeating India in the final match.
