Feature: Afghan football premier league helps bring normalcy to Kabul

The Roshan Afghan Premier League, the first tier of soccer tournament in Afghanistan, kicked off in the capital Kabul Thursday, the fourth season since 2012.

During the opening match, Simorgh Alborz won against the defending champion Shaheen Asmayee with 3:1.

Notwithstanding the continued threat of violence in the capital, which has seen a series of bomb attacks in recent days, an estimated 10,000 football fans, including hundreds of women and girls, gathered at the Kabul Stadium to cheer for their teams.

Showing their enthusiasm, some football fans painted their faces with national designs and waved the three-colored national flag, which was rarely seen in this relatively conservative Islamic nation.

"Eight local teams which made up of hundreds of footballers from across the country are here to contest Premier Football League and the best one from among the players of all the teams would be included in the National Football Team to contest regional and international championships," Deputy to Afghanistan National Olympic Committee Yusuf Kargar told Xinhua.

The final eight teams, each representing one competition zone across Afghanistan, have arrived in Kabul for the final stage competition. They will be divided into two groups for the group stage competition and the best two of each group will enter the final elimination game, which will be held in late October.

Kabul Stadium was once the venue of public executions and stoning undertaken by the Taliban during their brutal Islamic rule. During their reign between 1996 to 2001 the fundamentalist group strictly implemented the sharia justice that meted harsh punishments for violators of Islam that included stoning for adultery, public execution for murder, and amputating hands for thefts.

"Since our players are from across the country, from different tribes and provinces, I am sure that we can strengthen national unity through football in Afghanistan," said Kargar, a former coach of Afghan national football team.

The post-Taliban Afghanistan has made tremendous progress in the field of sports over the past decade and has brought medals from regional and international championship, an achievement unheard of during the Taliban rule.

Afghan athletes brought honor the country by winning medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and in the 2012 London Olympics.

"I am very happy and proud today since as a member of the team competing in the Premier League I have the opportunity to represent my beloved country in international competitions," Shaheen Asmaye player Mohammad Azim Najafi, said before the start of the opening match.

Najafi said he hopes the tournament will be able to form a national Afghan team that can win in regional and international soccer competitions, adding that football can help unite the country.

Two female football fans, Sheasta Sadeqi, 18, and Shukila Rezzae, 23, told Xinhua that the tournament brought respite from the tension and fear that Kabul citizens felt during the past week.

"We really forgot about the suicide attacks at least momentarily, Rezzae said. Endi