Afghanistan Falls Into The Hands Of The Taliban, What Is The Fate Of Football In This Country?

Illustration (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - In recent days, Afghanistan has become the focus of world attention. Within days, their government was overthrown by the Taliban. What will happen to football in this country?

MARCA spoke with a prominent Afghan footballer who lives in Kabul to find out what happened and how it would affect him. This man was kidnapped by the Taliban at the weekend.

"I think we are heading in the right direction towards peace," the unnamed man explained.

"Right now in my city everything is fine under the control of the Taliban, which doesn't hinder normal life for now," he continued.

But this man also expressed concern over what the Taliban could do about sport in Afghanistan.

"I hope the ruling Taliban don't get involved with the Afghan Football Federation (AFF), because that would mean FIFA sanctions and we don't want that," he admitted.

FIFA has a clear policy on the separation of powers between government organizations and football federations, insisting there is no interference.

Throughout the conversation, how shocking everything looks in Afghanistan. Under the condition of anonymity, the man opened up about what it's like in Afghanistan now.

"My family and I just wanted to live in a place of peace and quiet, and unfortunately, we were only able to find it overseas," he said.

"Here, no one can promise us these simple conditions. I'm not asking for a limousine, I'm just asking, is there anything you can do for us?"

"The truth is that everything is calm and life goes on, for now, but we are not feeling well and there is constant fear.

"Last week, no one dared to take to the streets, but now people are living more or less normal lives."

This country's transition to a sense of normality is different from the picture we see abroad, but time and history will judge these days of uncertainty.

For now, here's a display of ongoing history, someone else's history.