Afghanistan national football team

Afghanistan
افغانستان

Nickname(s)	The Lions of Khorasan (شیران خراسان)
Association	Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF)
Sub-confederation	SAFF (South-Asia)
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Head coach	Petar Segrt
Captain	Djelaludin Sharityar
Most caps	Djelaludin Sharityar (47)
Top scorer	Balal Arezou (9)
Home stadium	Ghazi Stadium and Afghanistan Football Federation Stadium
FIFA code	AFG
FIFA ranking
Current	150 20 (1 October 2015)[1]
Highest	122 (April 2014)
Lowest	204 (January 2003)
Elo ranking
Current	175 (June 2015)
Highest	167 (May 2014)
Lowest	207 (17 November 2010)
First international
Afghanistan 1–3 India (Kabul, Afghanistan; 23 August 1941)
Biggest win
Bhutan 1–8 Afghanistan (New Delhi, India; 7 December 2011)
Biggest defeat
Turkmenistan 11–0 Afghanistan (Ashgabat, Turkmenistan; 19 November 2003)

The Afghanistan National Football Team (Dari: تیم ملی فوتبال افغانستان) popularly known as the "The Lions of Khorasan" ^[2][3][4] is the national football team of Afghanistan and is controlled by the Afghanistan Football Federation. Founded in 1922, and played their first international game against India in Kabul, 1941. Afghanistan then joined FIFA in 1948 and the AFC in 1954, as one of the founding members. They play their home games at the Ghazi National Olympic Stadium in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Afghanistan are the current champions of the SAFF Championship. They defeated India in the 2013 SAFF Championship Final, 2-0. Afghanistan also earned the "FIFA Fair Play Award" in 2013.

The current head coach of the national team is Slaven Skeledzic.

History

Early History

Formed in 1922 and affiliated to FIFA since 1948, the Afghanistan Football Federation was one of the founding members of Asian Football Confederation in 1954.^[5] The first football club established in the country, Mahmoudiyeh F.C., was founded in 1934. Three years later the team traveled to India and took part in 18 games of which they won 8, lost 9 and drew 1. The second football club founded was Ariana Kabul F.C. which was established in 1941. This team traveled to Tehran, Iran upon invitation, played 3 games, winning one game and losing two.

The country's first non-FIFA international match was played against British India on 23 August 1941, which Afghanistan lost the game, 1–3 at Ghazi Stadium in Kabul. Afghanistan's only appearance and first FIFA international match was at the Olympic Games football tournament in the 1948 Summer Olympic Games when they played Luxembourg on 26 July 1948 and lost 6–0. Prior to 2002, Afghanistan was last seen on the international stage during 1984 AFC Asian Cup qualification, with its last match lost 6–1 against Jordan on 20 September 1984. Afghanistan played no international games from 1984 to 2002, due to the latter years of Soviet war in Afghanistan, Civil war in Afghanistan (1992–1996), and the Taliban regime.

2001–2010

Afghanistan national football team (in red uniform)

Following the demise of the Taliban regime, the Afghan national team eventually returned to the international arena in 2002, when they played South Korea in the Asian Games, losing 2–0.^[6] Afghanistan participated in their first international tournament in the 2003 SAFF Gold Cup where they lost all three group stage matches to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Later in the same year, Afghanistan took part in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification where they won against Kyrgyzstan but lost to Nepal and failed to make it to the next round. Afghanistan started its FIFA World Cup campaign for the first time in 2003 where they played Turkmenistan in 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification. They lost both matches in aggregate of 13–0. This was first time Afghanistan participated in FIFA World Cup qualification though they had been affiliated since 1948. The team went to Pakistan to take part in the 2005 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup, which they lost to the Maldives.

They also participated in the first edition of the AFC Challenge Cup in 2006, for which they drew both matches with Chinese Taipei and the Philippines with Afghan footballers Hafizullah Qadami and Sayed Maqsood Hashemi both scoring to produce a drawn result and on their second campaign of world cup in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification were eliminated by Syria. In the SAFF Championship 2008 Afghanistan lost to Bhutan but drew with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Afghanistan entered the second round of the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008,^[7] by winning in group D of the AFC Challenge Cup Qualification, drawing with Bangladesh and winning against Kyrgyzstan. In the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, Afghanistan lost all group matches to India, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. In 2009 SAFF Championship Afghanistan lost all its matches to Maldives, India and Nepal. Hashmatullah Barakzai scored only goal of Afghanistan against Maldives which they lost.

2011–2013

Players are celebrating after winning their 2011 SAFF Championship Semi Final against the tournaments highest ranked team Nepal. It also marked Afghanistan's first win over Nepal.

Afghanistan competed in their third World Cup qualifying campaign playing the first leg of their first match against Palestine in Tajikistan due to security reasons, which they lost, and the second leg of the match in Palestine which they drew with Balal Arezou scoring, meaning they failed to advance to the second round and were eliminated.

In 2011 SAFF Championship Afghanistan defeated Bhutan 8–1, the biggest victory in the history of the Afghanistan football team. In this match, Balal Arezou scored the only Hat-trick of the competition with 4 goals and the team scored the quickest goal of the tournament through Ata Yamrali in the third minute. It was Afghanistan's first Semi Final. In the Semi-Final of the tournament, the Afghans faced Nepal whom they beat 1–0 in Extra time with the only goal scored by Balal Arezou in the 101st minute. It was the first win of Afghanistan over Nepal. In the final, Afghanistan played India to whom they lost 4–0.

Afghanistan defeated Bhutan 5–0 in 2012 AFC Challenge Cup Qualification. In the first leg, they won Bhutan 3–0 with Sidiq Walizada scoring all 3 goals and 2–0 in the second leg. In the second qualification round, Afghanistan lost to Nepal and North Korea, whilst beating Sri Lanka but failed to qualify for the next stage. On 20 August 2013 before the 2013 SAFF Championship Afghanistan played Pakistan in a FIFA approved friendly for the first time in 36 years. This was also the first time on home ground after a decade which ended with a 3-0 victory over Pakistan.^[8][9]

Afghanistan entered the 2013 SAFF Championship as the highest ranked team by FIFA in the tournament placed at 139th. Afghanistan started the campaign with a 3-goal victory over Bhutan, with goals from Amiri, Azadzoy and Barakzai. The second match again ended with a 3–1 victory over Sri Lanka with goals from Rafi, Amiri and Barakzai. The Semi-Final of the tournament was the repeat of last Years edition with Afghanistan again defeating Nepal with a solitary goal of Sandjar Ahmadi, that took Afghanistan in to the final of the tournament against India once again. Mansur Faqiryar of Afghanistan showed an outstanding goalkeeping performance by saving two back to back Penalty kicks from Nepal in the last minutes of the match. The Final match of the tournament saw the 2011 SAFF Championship finalists again at Dashrath Stadium Nepal, where Afghanistan outplayed the defending champions India by 2 goals.^[10] Afghanistan showed an outstanding performance. Goals from Azadzoy and Sandjar Ahmadi in each half of the game put the Afghan football team in front, to claim their first SAFF Championship title in their history. Mansur Faqiryar was named the best Player of the tournament, by his outstanding goal keeping skills throughout the tournament.

Sharityar in red shirt fighting against the ball with Sunil Chhetri during the 2011 SAFF Championship in India.

2014–present

In the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup, Afghanistan did well to reach the Semi-final, losing to the eventual champions Palestine, 2–0. They finished their campaign in fourth spot, the countries highest finishing place in the short term the cup has existed, losing to Maldives on a penalty shoot out: (7–8) after a 1–1 draw for third spot of the competition. On 10 June 2014 Afghanistan Football Federation moved from South Asian Football Federation SAFF to the CAFF. At the 2014 Ballon D'or ceremony, the Afghanistan Football Federation won the FIFA Fair Play Award. Afghanistan was honored with the award for the outstanding performance of the Afghanistan football during the year, despite the chaos of war and difficult political situations the country is facing. FIFA made a statement and posted on its website that "Following a year of remarkable achievement in grassroots level football, building infrastructure to further develop football throughout the country and nurturing a professional league despite enduring over a decade of disorder stemming from war, Afghanistan has been presented the 2013 FIFA Fair Play award." On 9 February 2015, it was confirmed that the AFF signed a new coach for the national team. German-Bosnian trainer Slaven Skeledzic, signed a 1-year contract with the AFF. The new trainer had earlier coached the under 17 and under 19 teams in Germany. Skeledzic played football in Germany and coached youth teams in the Bundesliga.^[11] On 27 April 2015 the AFF signed a contract with a new sponsor called Alokozay Group of Companies. They will be featured on the shirts of the Afghan National Team.

Kit

In 2002, the Japanese sports brand Asics was the sponsor for the Afghan Football Team till 2004. In the year 2005, the German sports brand Adidas was the sponsor of the national team till 2008. In 2009 the Danish sports brand Hummel equipped the national team.^[12] In 2011 the Afghanistan Football Federation had signed a 4-year contract with Hummel, to provide both the Men's and the Women's National Team for all of the sportswear from 2011 till 2015. On 6 March 2015, the Afghan Football Federation signed a new 4-year contract with Hummel till 2019.

Home Stadium

The Ghazi Stadium in Kabul, which is now referred to as the Afghan Football Federation Stadium.

Major football matches in Afghanistan are held at the Afghan Football Federation Stadium (popularly known as the Ghazi Stadium) in Kabul. Built during the reign of King Amanullah Khan in 1923, the stadium has a capacity of around 25,000 people.^[15] The first international football match hosted there was played between Iran and Afghanistan in 1941 and ended as a draw, 0–0. Their 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification second leg match was played at the Ghazi Stadium against Turkmenistan which Afghanistan lost 2–0, having previously lost the first leg 11–0. The stadium is maintained and controlled by Afghanistan Football Federation. The Afghan Premier League and other local football tournaments take place in the stadium.^[16]

Personnel

Current Technical Staff

Current Squad

• Opposition: Upcoming match against  Cambodia
• Caps and goals correct as of: 15 October 2015

Recent Call Ups

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up GK Mansur Faqiryar (1986-01-03) 3 January 1986 18 0 unattached v.  Cambodia, 16 June 2015 GK Mohammad Fardin Kohistani (1994-09-06) 6 September 1994 5 0 Shaheen Asmayee F.C. v.  Cambodia, 16 June 2015 GK Morteza Alibeik (1989-05-08) 8 May 1989 0 0 Setaragan v.  Cambodia, 16 June 2015 GK Mahbobullah Kalakhan (1994-08-03) 3 August 1994 0 0 Mawjhai Amu F.C. v.  Pakistan, 6 February 2015 DF Zohib Islam Amiri (1987-05-02) 2 May 1987 33 5 unattached v.  Pakistan, 6 February 2015 DF Mujtaba Faiz (1982-03-07) 7 March 1982 8 0 Shaheen Asmayee F.C. v.  Pakistan, 6 February 2015 DF Farzad Ataie (1991-12-30) 30 December 1991 8 0 Toofaan Harirod F.C. v.  Pakistan, 6 February 2015 DF Sabahoon Qaume (1992-02-11) 11 February 1992 2 0 Kolding IF v.  Cambodia, 16 June 2015 DF Mohammad Afshar (1992-10-23) 23 October 1992 1 0 Oqaban Hindukush F.C. v.  Pakistan, 6 February 2015 MF Mohammad Rafi Barekzay (1990-06-06) 6 June 1990 8 1 Toofaan Harirod F.C. v.  Pakistan, 6 February 2015 MF Maroof Mohammadi (1991-07-02) 2 July 1991 6 1 Toofaan Harirod F.C. v.  Pakistan, 6 February 2015 MF Modaser Zekria (1990-06-26) 26 June 1990 1 0 IK Brage v.  Cambodia, 16 June 2015 MF Sayed Ali Naser (1990-10-25) 25 October 1990 1 0 De Spin Ghar Bazan F.C. v.  Pakistan, 6 February 2015 MF Mohammad Ahmadi (1994-08-10) 10 August 1994 0 0 Oqaban Hindukush F.C. v.  Pakistan, 6 February 2015 FW Sandjar Ahmadi (1992-02-10) 10 February 1992 19 8 SC Vier- und Marschlande v.  Cambodia, 16 June 2015 FW Hashmatullah Barakzai (1987-08-26) 26 August 1987 17 2 Shaheen Asmayee F.C. v.  Pakistan, 6 February 2015 FW Amredin Sharifi (1992-03-23) 23 March 1992 4 1 Shaheen Asmayee F.C. v.  Pakistan, 6 February 2015 FW Parwiz Kazimi (1990-08-24) 24 August 1990 1 0 Oqaban Hindukush F.C. v.  Pakistan, 6 February 2015

Honours

Asian Games

• Fourth Place:1951

SAFF Championship

• Champions: 2013
• Runners-Up: 2011

South Asian Games

• Runners-Up: 2010

AFC Challenge Cup

• Fourth Place: 2014

FIFA Awards

• Winner: FIFA Fair Play Award 2013

Competition Records

FIFA World Cup Records

AFC Asian Cup Records

AFC Asian Cup AFC Asian Cup qualifications Year Round GP W D L GF GA Year Round GP W D L GF GA 1956 to 1972 Did not enter 1956 to 1972 Did not enter 1976 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1976 Round 1 6 0 1 5 3 18 1980 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1980 Round 1 4 0 1 3 4 11 1984 to 2000 Did not enter 1984 to 2000 Did not enter 2004 Did not qualify - - - - - - 2004 Round 1 2 1 0 1 2 5 2007 to 2015 Did not enter 2007 to 2015 Did not enter 2019 To be determined - - - - - - 2019 Round 2 - - - - - - Total Did not qualify 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total Best: Round 2 12 1 2 9 9 34 Asian Games Records (Under-23 team) Asian Games Year Round GP W D L GF GA 1951 4th Place 2 0 0 2 0 5 1954 Group Stage 2 0 0 2 4 12 1958 to 1998 Did not enter 2002 Group Stage 3 0 0 3 0 32 2006 to 2010 Did not enter 2014 Group Stage 3 0 0 3 1 8 Total Best: 4th Place 10 0 0 10 5 57 South Asian Games Records South Asian Games Year Round GP W D L GF GA 1984 to 1999 Did not enter 2004 Group Stage 3 0 0 3 1 7 2006 Group Stage 3 0 2 1 1 5 2010 Runners-Up 3 3 0 0 5 1 Total Best: Runners-Up 9 3 2 4 7 13 SAFF Championship (1993-2015) SAFF Championship Year Round GP W D L GF GA 1993 to 1999 Did not enter 2003 Group Stage 3 0 0 3 0 6 2005 Group Stage 3 1 0 2 3 11 2008 Group Stage 3 0 2 1 5 7 2009 Group Stage 3 0 0 3 1 7 2011 Runners-Up 5 3 1 1 13 7 2013 Champions 5 4 1 0 9 1 2015 To be determined Total Best: Champions 22 8 4 10 31 39 AFC Challenge Cup (2006-2014) AFC Challenge Cup Year Round GP W D L GF GA 2006 Group Stage 3 0 2 1 3 5 2008 Group Stage 3 0 0 3 0 10 2010 Withdrew 2012 Did not qualify 2014 4th Place 5 1 3 1 4 4 Total Best: 4th Place 11 1 5 5 7 19 Managers As of 17 September 2015[17] Manager Period Record Matches Won Draw Lost Goals Win % Mohammed Sarwar Yusufzai 1923-1948 99 13 19 67 73-232 13% Abdul Hamid Tajik 1948-1974 182 19 29 134 142-612 10% Abdul Ahad Kharot 1974-1998 216 23 49 144 182-632 11% Ali Askar Lali 1998-2007 143 32 44 67 111-283 22% Mohammad Yousef Kargar 2008-2014 68 33 15 20 95-63 49% Slaven Skeledzic 2015 ''8 2 2 4 5-17 28% 715 122 157 436 608-1839 17% See also Afghanistan women's national football team Afghanistan national under-23 football team Afghanistan national under-20 football team Afghanistan national under-17 football team Afghanistan national futsal team Afghanistan Football Federation Roshan Premier League Football in Afghanistan Sport in Afghanistan Notes References ^ http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=afg/ ^ dhakatribune ^ sports in msn ^ goal.com ^ Afghanistan National Football Team at Afghan-web.com ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19668215 ^ Afghanistan at AFC Challenge Cup 2008 at AFC Website ^ ^ http://ahmadfaisalsidiqi.blogspot.in/2013/08/afghanistan-vs-pakistan-afghanistan-for.html ^ http://www.thehindu.com/sport/football/afghanistan-pips-india-to-win-saff-title/article5117118.ece ^ http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/18133-skeledzic-afghanistans-new-national-football-coach ^ [1] ^ [2] ^ [3] ^ http://sports.ndtv.com/football/news/15569-stampede-in-kabul-match ^ http://afghanpremierleague.com/ ^ External links Khorasanlions ELORATINGS Afghanland Football in Afghanistan Afghanistan Football Federation National teams Men's Women's U-23 U-20 U-17 League competitions Afghan Premier League Kabul Premier League List of clubs List of leagues List of venues Women's football in Afghanistan International association football FIFA World Cup Confederations Cup U-20 World Cup U-17 World Cup Olympics Youth Olympics Universiade World Rankings Player of the Year FIFA Ballon d'Or Geography Teams Debuts Competitions Federations Codes Asia AFC – Asian Cup U-23 U-19 U-16 U-14 Regional (ASEAN, EAFF, SAFF, WAFF) Africa CAF – Africa Cup of Nations U-23 U-20 U-17 North America, Central America and the Caribbean CONCACAF – Gold Cup U-20 U-17 U-15 South America CONMEBOL – Copa América U-20 U-17 U-15 Oceania OFC – Nations Cup U-20 U-17 Europe UEFA – European Championship U-21 U-19 U-17 Non-FIFA NF-Board – Viva World Cup CONIFA - ConIFA World Football Cup ConIFA European Football Cup IGA - Island Games Games All-Africa Games Asian Games Central America Central America and Caribbean East Asian Games Francophonie Games Indian Ocean Island Lusophony Games Mediterranean Games Pan American Games Pan Arab Games Pacific Games South Asian Games Southeast Asian Games See also Non-FIFA South Asian Football Federation International Competitions SAFF Championship South Asian Games U-19 Championship U-16 Championship Club Championship (proposed) Women's Championship National Teams Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka Domestic Leagues Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka National football teams of Asia (AFC) Southeast Asia (AFF) Australia Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor-Leste Vietnam Central Asia (CAFA) Afghanistan Iran Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan East Asia (EAFF) China PR Chinese Taipei Guam Hong Kong Japan Korea DPR Korea Republic Macau Mongolia Northern Mariana Islands1 South Asia (SAFF) Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka West Asia (WAFF) Bahrain Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria United Arab Emirates Yemen Defunct North Vietnam South Vietnam South Yemen Former Israel (moved to UEFA in 1994) Kazakhstan (moved to UEFA in 2002) New Zealand (formed the OFC in 1966) 1 Provisional Associate Member - Not a member of FIFA National sports teams of Afghanistan Baseball Basketball M W Cricket M W Football M W M U/20 Futsal M W Handball M W Volleyball M W Olympics Paralympics Asian Games