I love football. As a Wisconsinite, and a Madisonian, it sort of comes with the territory. On any given Saturday in the fall, I can't drive downtown without being mobbed by rabid Badger fans. Every Sunday, I go to my friend's house, we order food and watch the Packer game. Win or lose, it's always a good time (though I think we can all agree it's better with a win).
Given that background, you can imagine my excitement when I look to see what's new on Afghan Development WebTV and find a new series of videos dedicated to a major Afghani sports interest: football.
Of course, this is European football we're talking about (aka soccer), but I don't mind—I played when I was younger, and over the last few years I've watched games during both the World Cup and the Euro Cup—without falling asleep!
In any case, I never thought about Afghanistan having any sports, much less 19 teams in the Premiere League. The videos I found on the Afghan Development Web TV highlight the Esqetlal Football Club, the Kabul football team that was founded over 10 years ago.
There are three short videos of team coverage available on the Afghan Development Web TV, each one highlighting a different part of the team, from training to actual game play. It's footage set to music, which give you a very preliminary glimpse into the arena. Personally, I hope for more videos on this subject, maybe with some field audio and/or interviews with the players. They all seem so focused, driven, and happy to be playing the game, so it would be nice to hear what they have to say in their own words. Of course, there is the language barrier to consider—I don't speak their language, and I don't know if they speak any English. But that doesn't matter. Some things, like passion and the desire to win, can be communicated without words. That's why sports are so great—you can understand the love of the game without saying anything at all.
Because they are in the habit of sponsoring and supporting things that are awesome, Film Annex is also sponsoring the Esteqlal team, on the way to help create a national soccer league in Afghanistan. For more information, visit the Esteqlal Football Fan Page on Facebook.
