ASF NEWS

2008 ASF Upcoming Events: Bowling Tournament March 16, 2008   Spring Soccer League (ASL) Sun. April 6, 2008       Season III of Afghan Basketball League (ABL) Spring - May 7, 2008   Afghan Cup 2008 (Soccer, Basketball and Volleyball) - July 3, 2008       ASF Staff Picnic - July 20th, 2008   Afghan Youth Activities Day - Aug., 2008       Fall Soccer League (ASL) - Sept. 7, 2008   Season IV of Afghan Basketball League Winter - Oct. 29th, 2008       Afghan Volleyball Tourney - Nov. 15th, 2008   Afghan Chess Tourney - Dec. 14th, 2008

2008 ASL Spring Season is Underway... Afghan Soccer League Spring 2008 season is underway with 7 teams competing for the glory to be called ASL CHAMPS! TEAMS: - Ariana - Afghanica - Afghan United - Pamir - Istiqlal - MidEast United - Afghan11 ASL Excel Roster Form (click here) ASL Schedule of Games (click here) ASL Statistics (click here) Afghan Basketball League Season III The 3rd season of the ABL has began with a BANG!!!.... 10 teams competing for the glory to be called AFGHAN CHAMPIONS!!! TEAMS: 1. Tha City 2. Khatarnaks 3. Khudrat 4. Shake & Bake 5. Dunyah 6. Fairfax Warriors 7. Buzkashi Ballers 8. Lost Boyz 9. Brotherhood Ballers 10.VA Finest For team schedules and scores, click here For stats and standings, click here     Afghan Bowling Classic 2008 Afghan Sports Federation hosted it's 5th Annual Afghan Bowling Classic on Sunday March 16th, 2008. Over 16 teams participated in this event. Team Ayienda won the Championship Cup defeating team Knock-Out with score of 716 to 704. Congratulations to all the teams!        For more photos...

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		Soccer
		1st Place: Afghan United, Bay Area, CA. 2nd Place: Breshna, N.Y. MVP Player: Tawab Arsala
		Basketball
		1st Place: Afghan Ballers, NY. 2nd Place: Ariana, N.Y.
		Volleyball
		Men's 1st Place: Bakhtar, CA. 2nd Place: Pamir, VA. Women's 1st Place: Pink Ladies, VA - DC Area
		Youth Games
		Boy's Basketball 1st Place: VA - DC Area Girl's Soccer 1st Place: N.J. Boy's Soccer 1st Place: VA - DC Area

PRESS RELEASE
In the largest sports gathering outside of Afghanistan over 7000 Afghans from all over the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia gathered at the Discovery Center Soccerplex in the suburbs of Washington DC to celebrate the Afghan Sports Federation’s 10th Anniversary of the 4th of July sporting events.Read More ...

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Afghanistan National Amateur Basketball Federation (ANABF) signed an exclusive agreement with Afghan Sports Federation (ASF) - May 2007 (NEW) Read More

WORLD NEWS

Table Tennis: Helping to Break Down Barriers in Afghanistan By Steve Dainton Representing the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) in March, I made a visit to Afghanistan to assist in the rebuilding of sport and, in particular, table tennis. The visit included a table tennis coaching course, training of the national table tennis team and technical assistance to many of the other sporting federations that are once again trying to rebuild from scratch. A large equipment package was donated by Butterfly, a table tennis manufacturer; and with the support of the International Olympic Committee, it was the first sporting visit of its kind for Afghanistan. Read More........     Omahans help by donating sports equipment to Afghan athletes BY TIM ELFRINK WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER Omaha soccer coach Karl Ostrand stood on an uneven dirt field inside Afghanistan's Ghazi Stadium in Kabul - the site of public executions under the Taliban. Children play in the stadium where people once were executed. Sports can make a big difference for youths in a war-torn nation, Ostrand said. He found it an "eye-opening trip,". But on this cool January day, watching a team of young Afghans playing soccer on the rough field, Ostrand saw hope for Afghanistan's future. "It was such a powerful image, because the stadium still looks exactly the same as in the pictures of the Taliban execution fields - except instead of executions, there was the country's under-15 boys team out there practicing," he said. Read More....... Britain's Prince Harry is Seen Playing Rugby AP - Sun Mar 2, 2008 In this photo made available Sunday, March 2, 2008, Britain's Prince Harry is seen playing rugby with fellow soldiers during a break in their duties in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Feb. 20, 2008. Prince Harry's secret tour of duty, due to last until April, was abruptly ended after a magazine and Web sites disclosed details of his whereabouts. Prince Harry, home from his abandoned military mission to Afghanistan, says he hopes to return to combat zones as soon as possible.   Afghan Woman Runs Toward Olympics Despite Jeers, Potential Danger Fox News Channel - World Sunday, March 16, 2008 KABUL, Afghanistan The neighborhood boys shout at Mehboba Ahdyar when she leaves home. "Hero, hero! Look at the hero of our country," they yell at Ahdyar, one of Afghanistan's fastest female runners. But the boys are not saluting a top athlete. Their sarcastic jabs are meant to poke fun at a teenage girl trying to realize Olympic-sized dreams. Ahdyar, a 19-year-old middle-distance runner, is the only female on Afghanistan's four-member Olympic team. Read More...   In pictures: Afghan Olympians Massoud Azizi, 20, is one of three Afghan athletes who have been confirmed to compete at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He regularly trains on a hill overlooking the capital, Kabul.   Afghanistan's most celebrated runner, Massoud competed in the Athens Olympics in 2004. He will run in the 100m and 200m sprints in Beijing.   The gym at Kabul's Olympic stadium helps him to get into shape.   Afghan track star Mehbooba Ahadyar, 19, is the only female athlete among the three. She is training at Kabul's Olympic stadium for the 1500m and 3000m events.   After a workout, Mehbooba walks home through the back streets of Kabul. Mehbooba's family is supportive of her career in sports. Here she is (l) with her mother, Mahjan (back), and sisters Masooda (l-centre) and Hameeda (r).   Rohullah Nikpah (L), aged 20, is the third Afghan taking part in the Olympics. He practices Tae Kwon Do techniques with his brother Habib, aged 18.   Rohullah started doing Tae Kwan Do 10 years ago, and is now a master. He has won many tournaments. Afghan athlete Massoud Azizi takes a break from training for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He is one of three Afghan athletes confirmed to be competing.   REUTERS/John Stillwell/Pool (AFGHANISTAN) Feb. 29, 2008 Britain's Prince Harry kicks a ball at dawn while in the desert in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, February 18, 2008. Prince Harry is being withdrawn from Afghanistan immediately, the Defence Ministry said on February 29, 2008, after news leaked on the Internet that he had been secretly fighting on the front lines for 10 weeks. Photograph taken February 18, 2008.   'Beautiful game' offers escape National Post Brian Hutchinson Published: Saturday, February 23, 2008 KANDAHAR CITY, Afghanistan Violence, poverty and myriad forms of serious crime plague this city, among the world's most dangerous, but there is one means of escape that doesn't involve AK-47s or drugs: the "beautiful game." Read More...   Unbeaten Afghanistan in ACC U-15 Elite Cup semis KABUL, Nov 29 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Maintaining their unbeaten run, Afghanistan Thursday inflicted a crushing defeat on Kuwait in a match of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Under-15 Elite Cup in Nepal's capital of Kathmandu. Read More...   AP - Sat Nov 3, 8:02 AM ET Afghan high school girls play chess during a tournament in Herat province, southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007. The 10 day School Girl's chess tournament is the first for the teenage girls of Herat province since the collapse of the Taliban. (AP Photo/Fraidoon Pooyaa)   AP - Fri Nov 2, 11:22 AM ET Afghan horse riders fight for a headless goat during a game of 'buzkashi' in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Nov. 2, 2007. Invented more than 2,000 years ago, and considered a national sport in Afghanistan, buzkashi resembles rodeo, polo, football and wrestling. Horsemen from two teams use hand-to-hand combat to fight for control of the goat carcass, which they then race to a separate scoring area. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)   Afghanistan, Oman share ACC Twenty20 Cup KABUL, Nov 2 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Afghanistan and Oman Friday shared the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Twenty20 Cup as a wildly enthusiastic crowd streamed into the ground just before the last delivery of a keenly contested final - a real photo-finish - was to be thrown in by the Afghan skipper. Read More...   Afghanistan, Oman share ACC Twenty20 Cup KABUL, Nov 2 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Afghanistan and Oman Friday shared the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Twenty20 Cup as a wildly enthusiastic crowd streamed into the ground just before the last delivery of a keenly contested final - a real photo-finish - was to be thrown in by the Afghan skipper. Read More...   Classic golf competition at the Kabul Golf Course AFP - Fri Oct 19, 11:03 PM ET Afghan caddies (L) watch as a foreign competitor tees off during the Kabul Desert Classic golf competition at the Kabul Golf Course(AFP/Massoud Hossaini)   Afghan boys play volleyball Reuters - Thu Oct 18, 10:05 AM ET Afghan boys play volleyball on the outskirts of Kabul, October 18, 2007. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani (AFGHANISTAN)     Afghanistan stun defending champions WAPDA ISLAMABAD - Afghanistan trounced defending champions Pakistan WAPDA 4-2 on penalty kicks in the first quarter final of the 3rd National Women's Football Championship at the Jinnah Stadium here on Tuesday. Balochistan defeated hosts Islamabad 3-1 in the second quarter-final at the same venue. Read More...   AFP - Wed Aug 22, 11:08 PM ET Afghanistan's women football team players carry their national flag as they celebrate defeating Pakistan's Baluchistan National Women football team in the semi-final match of Pakistan's National Women Football Championship, at the Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad, 22 August.(AFP/Aamir Qureshi)   AFP - Wed Aug 22, 11:08 PM ET Afghanistan's women football team captain Shamila Kohistani (R) fights for the ball with a player of Pakistan's Baluchistan National Women football team in the semi-final match of Pakistan's National Women Football Championship, at the Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad, 22 August.(AFP/Aamir Qureshi)   AFP - Wed Aug 22, 11:08 PM ET Afghanistan's women football team player Roya (R) vies for the ball with a player of Pakistan's Baluchistan National Women football team (R) in the semi-final match of Pakistan's National Women Football Championship, at the Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad, 22 August.(AFP/Aamir Qureshi)   Afghanistan U-19 beat Qatar by 44 runs KABUL, Aug 21 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Afghanistan U-19 gained its second consecutive victory in the ACC Under-19 Elite Cup 2007 cricket tournament in Malasia on Tuesday. Read More...   National cricket team to leave for Pakistan tomorrow KABUL, Aug 20 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The National cricket team will leave for Pakistan on Tuesday to participate in the Grade-B cricket tournament there. Read More...   Afghanistan U-19 beat Malaysia by four wickets KABUL, Aug 20 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Afghanistan Under-19 cricket team defeated Malaysia by four wickets in their first match of the ACC U-19 Elite Cup 2007 tournament on Monday. Read More...   Soccer tournament to mark I-Day celebrations KANDAHAR CITY, Aug 16 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Two teams from the southern Kandahar province have qualified for the inter-provincial soccer tournament organised in connection with the Independence Day celebrations of the country. Read More...
		Sajid powers Afghanistan into ACC U-19 Cup final KABUL, Aug 27 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Afghanistan continued their unbeaten run, trouncing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the semi-second final played at the Kinrara Oval Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. (NEW) Read More
Mega Afghan sports meet outside S. Asia from tomorrow NEW YORK, July 4 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The largest-every Afghan sports meet outside of the war-hit country begins in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area from tomorrow. (NEW) Read More		Afghan junior squad to contest ACC U-19 Cup KABUL, July 30 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Afghanistans junior cricket squad will participate in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) U-19 Elite Cup to be played in Malaysia next month, an official said on Monday. (NEW) Read More
Hamid Hassan became the first Afghan cricketer to turn out for the MCC at Lord's on Thursday. As a young but fast-improving cricket nation, Afghanistan are striving to put their massive domestic problems to one side and become a force among the elite. Read More		Trials for women volleyball squad begin in Kabul KABUL, June 5 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Week-long trials for the selection of Afghanistans women volleyball squad got under way in this capital city Tuesday morning, an official said. Read More   Afghanistan National Amateur Basketball Federation (ANABF) signed an exclusive agreement with Afghan Sports Federation (ASF) - May 2007 Read More
Stadium with sports facilities for soldiers built in Kandahar KANDAHAR CITY, May 29 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The 205 Army Corps has built a sprawling stadium for soldiers in this southern city, where sports and workouts remain a favourite pastime for many despite endemic militant-linked violence. Read More		Hamta trounce Mashal in girls football match KABUL, May 28 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Hamta Club trounced Mashal 3-0 in an utterly one-sided match of the Girls Football Tournament played in Kabul on Monday. Read More
Afghan taekwondoists leave for Beijing tomorrow KABUL, May 13 (Pajhwok Afghan News): For the first time ever, a seven-member Afghan team will leave for China tomorrow (Monday) to participate in the 17th edition of the World Taekwando Championship. Read More		10 Afghan Cricketers to be Coached Abroad KABUL, May 29 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Ten players of the Afghanistan cricket team - eyeing a debut in the 2011 World Cup - will receive advanced and elaborate coaching in the departments of batting, bowling and fielding in England and India. Read More
Teams playing in the Panjshir Valley May 2007 More Info.		KABUL, May 10 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Logar won the final of the six-team Peace Cricket Tournament defeating Khost by 85 runs on Wednesday. Read More
Winter/Spring 2007 Afghan Basketball League comes to an end - Washington D.C., April 21 - The first Afghan Basketball League season, outside of Afghanistan, comes to a conclusion with Tha City defeating Afghan Legends in a convincing fashion. Both teams played hard, but Yusuf Ansari of Tha City (Game MVP) scored 22 points and 6 assists, helping Tha City pull off the victory. Haris Samirzay was awarded the league MVP for Winter/Spring 2007 season. As per Kamran Lutfi, the AFL Commissioner, "it was a great season and a good step in advancing Afghan basketball to new heights...". more info		Inter-district cricket tournament started in Paktia GARDEZ, Apr 13 (Pajhwok Afghan News):Daulatzai cricket team defeated Rabat by 100 runs in the inaugural match of the inter-district cricket tournament started in this provincial capital of the southeastern Paktia province on Friday. Teams from all the 13 districts of the province are taking part in the tournament, organised to mark the beginning of the spring season. Read More
Afghanistan Ladies team to train at Female Badminton Academy Written by pub Thursday, 12 April 2007 ISLAMABAD, Apr 12 (APP):The ladies badminton team of Afghanistan will play training matches here at PakistanR17;s first-ever Female Badminton Academy. This was stated Thursday by Saima Batool who is Incharge-cum-Chief Coach of Reposeb Ladies Badminton Club and Academy. (NEW) ReadMore		Raju Gopalakrishnan KABUL 12-Apr-07 A MAN living in a graveyard in a rubbish-strewn, rundown Kabul district is the unlikely hero behind the scenes of one of Hollywood's most eagerly anticipated movies this year. Noor Agha is widely acknowledged as the best kite-maker in Afghanistan, where flying and duelling with kites is the closest thing the war-torn country has to a national sport. (NEW) ReadMore
Reuters - Wed Mar 7, 10:08 AM ET Boys play volleyball on the outskirts of Kabul March 7, 2007. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood (AFGHANISTAN)   (NEW)		Reuters - Wed Mar 7, 10:03 AM ET Men play volleyball on the outskirts of Kabul March 7, 2007. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood (AFGHANISTAN) (NEW)
AP - Sat Mar 3, 8:01 PM ET In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Afghan horsemen play Buzkashi game in Kabul, Friday, March 2, 2007. Buzkashi, literally translated as 'goat grabbing' is Afghanistan's traditional and national sport. In Buzkashi, a carcass of goat is placed in the center of a circle and surrounded by the players from two opposing teams. The object of the game is to get control of the carcass and bring it to the scoring area. (AP Photo/Xinhua,Zabi Tamanna)		Tora Bora defeats Moosh in Virginia Tournament  NEW YORK, Mar 7 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Tora Bora defeated Mush Mush! Not in a war at a bowling tournament. At the sixth edition of the annual Afghan Bowling Tournament this past weekend in the US, team Tora Bora defeated team Moosh 760 to 690 points. Organized by the Afghan Sports Federation, as many as 18 teams participated in the daylong event, which was attended by sports-loving Afghans from Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC area. ReadMore (NEW)
Reuters - Sun Feb 18, 8:55 AM ET Afghan boys play football on the snow in front of a damaged palace in Kabul February 18, 2007. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani (AFGHANISTAN)		Vietnam beat Afghanistan 2-0 in Olympic soccer qualifier Hosts Vietnam defeated inexperienced Afghanistan 2-0 in an Olympic qualifying match in Vietnam's northern Nam Dinh province on Wednesday.Vietnamese striker Phuc Hiep scored the opening goal with a left-foot volley from close range in the 34th minute. Read More
Vietnam-Afghanistan Olympic qualifier rescheduled for next week The delayed Olympic qualifier between host Vietnam and Afghanistan will be re-organized next Wednesday, after FIFA justified force majeure had caused the latter to miss the game yesterday. Read More		ASF organize basketball tournament for Afghans NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Tha City basketball team of Afghan expatriates defeated the Shake & Bake by 57-32 in the first match of the basketball tournament organised by the US-based Afghan Sports Federation (ASF). Read More
Afghanistan Monday withdrew from the 2008 Olympic qualifiers’ football match scheduled for Wednesday in Vietnam, thus the host team is to be ruled victorious, announced the Vietnam Football Federation. Read More		AP - Wed Feb 7, 9:10 AM ET Afghan boys play soccer in front of the former King of Afghanistan Darul Aman's palace, destroyed during the civil war, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Five Afghan athletes to receive special diplomas Friday, January 05, 2007 Source: Pajhwok Afghan News KABUAL - Five Afghan athletes who participated in the 15th Asian Games held in Qatar would be awarded with Asian competition diplomas. The 15th Asian games were held from December 1 to December 15, 2006 with participation of athletes from 45 countries, including 50 Afghans. Read More		Afghanistan Olympic qualifier off 6:45 a.m. EST, February 5, 2007 BANGKOK, Thailand -- The return leg of an Olympic soccer qualifying match between Vietnam and Afghanistan has been cancelled because of security fears in the Afghan capital Kabul, the Asian Football Confederation said on Monday. The two teams were scheduled to play the first leg of their Asian Olympic preliminary round qualifier in Vietnam on Wednesday and this will now be the only encounter in this preliminary round tie. Vietnam coach Alfred Riedl confirmed that his team would not have to travel to Afghanistan. "The AFC said there was a security problem and we did not need to go there. "We heard Bangkok would stage the match but then they decided against it so that is much better for us,"
Tuesday January 9, 03:19 PM Two British servicemen jog past a Chinook helicopter, at the camp Bastion, in Southern Afghanistan, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007.		AP - Tue Jan 9, 10:51 AM ET Soldiers of 59 Commandos Royal Engineering, 3rd Brigade of United Kingdom Task force perform exercise by carrying fellow soldiers as part of fitness exercises at camp Bastion, in Southern Afghanistan, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007. The camp Bastion which is the middle of the Afghanistan desert, houses some 3500 British servicemen and provides logistical support to all the troops for their various operations in Southern Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Troops hit for six in cricket match against Afghanistan LONDON (AFP) - England getting clobbered in Australia might be understandable, but there will be no special mentions in dispatches for those Royal Marines in        Afghanistan who were likewise stuffed by the locals at cricket. Read More		British Royal Air force soldiers play cricket, at the camp Bastion, in Southern Afghanistan, Tuesday, Jan.