Rugby union in Afghanistan
Encyclopedia
Governing body
The Afghanistan Rugby Federation (ARF) is affiliated with the National Olympic Committee, Islamic Republic Of Afghanistan. It is the official Federation for the sport of Afghan Rugby and is involved in educating, supporting and enabling young Afghans to excel and compete internationally.The ARF officially launched rugby in Afghanistan on May 20, 2011 with the aim and intention that Rugby will soon be developed into a sport game. ARF is registered with National Olympic Committee and approved by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Afghanistan Rugby Federation is in process of developing into a nation-wide organization which will certainly promote the game of rugby and the accompanying spirit of teamwork and fair competition in between all age-groups throughout Afghanistan emphasizing the young generation of Afghanistan. ARF is sure that rugby will only thrive if it becomes a game played by a large number of young generations.
Founding Members
- Mohammad Mansoor : President
- Bashir Stanekzai : General Secretary
- Abdul Khalil Bik : Technical Director
- Asadullah : A.Chief Executive Officer
- Mujeebullah : Administration/ HR Director
- Steve Brooking : Technical Advisor
History
As with many parts of the world, Afghanistan has indigenous sports which bear some resemblance to rugby. One of these is "buzkashi
Buzkashi
Buzkashi or Kok-boru or Oglak Tartis or Ulak Tartysh is a traditional Central Asian...
", which has been compared to a cross between rugby and polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
, and uses a dead goat as the "ball". The goal of a player is to grab the carcass of a headless goat or calf and then get it clear of the other players and pitch it across a goal line or into a target circle or vat. The game has even been referred to as "Sheep Rugby" by the Society for Creative Anachronism
Society for Creative Anachronism
The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century...
since the 1970s.
The history of rugby in Afghanistan is an intermittent and discontinuous one, often played by invading armies. The game was first introduced into the country from British India and was played by British troops. After the British left Asia, the game all but died in Afghanistan. By way of return, the British took polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
back with them from the region.
Although the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
did have several dedicated rugby teams, there appears to be no record of troops playing the game during the Soviet war in Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
.
In recent times, rugby has been reintroduced by foreign forces once more, being played amongst British, Australian, French, Canadian and even American troops in their forward operating bases. However, these are not open to Afghan civilians.
In 2008, the Cornish Pirates
Cornish Pirates
The Cornish Pirates are an English professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn Pirates, the Cornish Pirates play their home games and train at their...
collected old rugby shirts to distribute amongst the Afghan poor.
The ARF has introduced a plan called Afghan School Rugby (ASR) by which it hopes it will be able develop wider popularity of the game.
The ASR project really need sponsors and donors who are willing to help the young generation to avoid war and criminal activities and to be a healthy member of an Afghan family. By involving young Afghans in sport, they hope to steer them away from criminal activity, drug abuse, or even getting involved in military activity.
It remains to be seen however what will happen to rugby in Afghanistan, but in order to survive it shall have to expand substantially beyond the occupying forces, and not be associated with them.