With German help, Afghans aim to raise football profile

BAD BLANKENBURG (Germany): Mohammad Reza Mahmoudi has achieved a lifelong dream by making it into the newly formed Afghanistan national football team.

The 22-year-old midfielder has been a member of the national team for nearly a year and is proud to have made the grade.

"It was always my dream to play under the Afghan flag. To have managed it makes me unbelievably happy," Mahmoudi said on his first visit to Germany, where the Afghan team has been training under invitation of the German Football Federation (DFB).

The German government financed the 10-day training school in Bad Blankenburg. "We want to lay the foundation so that the team is able in two or three years to compete in the Asian area," said Klaus Staerk, who has been training the Afghans during their stay in Germany.

The 51-year-old is one of 20 DFB coaches who work on football development in war-torn and impoverished countries and has already worked in Mongolia, Lebanon, and Kazakhstan.

With Afghanistan still struggling for stability four years after the removal of the Taliban from power, Staerk admits even basic issues like accommodation and nutrition are a problem. Virtually none of the players has an apartment or a job.

"Even nutrition is a big problem," said Staerk. "So it`s difficult to get fit and achieve higher aims."

While there is an 18-team league in the Afghan capital Kabul, they must share the former Olympic stadium, which was previously used for executions by the Taliban.

"The pitch is basically unplayable," said Staerk.

After 25 years of war, there has only been organised football in the country for the past three years but a national league is still out of the question due to lack of infrastructure, the enormous distances involved and the volatile political situation.

"For this reason, we are still at the beginning," said Staerk. "They are nearly all street footballers who train with their clubs without supervision. The standard is very low."

Though there is hope for the future with, for example, Mohammad Reza Mahmoudi saying he wants to pass on all he learns in Germany. "That`s my next wish," he said.

Another positive sign was a 1-0 victory in front of 10,000 spectators over an ISAF peacekeepers` team shortly before the team departed for Germany.

"This victory released a real euphoria," said Staerk.