Rugby club opens inside Kabul University campus
By: Asad Ziar
Courtesy: wadsam
Afghanistan Rugby Federation (ARF) finally managed to inaugurate a rugby club inside the campus of Kabul University with the help of university students and the sports committee of the university.
Kabul University is the oldest and largest institution of tertiary education in Afghanistan. Throughout its long history since 1930 not only it has provided training to a large number of Afghans, but had enjoyed popularity in the region by attracting many students from the neighboring countries. There are 22,000 students currently enrolling in the different faculties of the university.
Rugby in its 7s form is turning back at this year’s Olympic Games in Rio, with the last Olympic rugby competition dating back to 1924. It is also one of the fastest growing sports in Asia and the lack of rugby playing pitch is making the growth of rugby slow in Afghanistan.
Afghan National Squad’s skipper Mustafa Sadat 30 is optimistic that one day rugby will be played in Afghanistan as Cricket and Football. Sadat further added “ There is no cooperation between the sport federations and that is the reason we are not allowed to use cricket and football pitches to play rugby “
With the recent history of rugby in Afghanistan it is always hard to find the right structures and coaches for the sport. “The biggest challenge are Playgrounds,” Mohammad Mansoor Majid President of the Rugby Federation admits. Mostly, the players use public fields and grounds full of stones and shingle for their competitions. However, ground at the Kabul University Campus will afterwards become a permanent training pitch for the Kabul University Rugby Club.
“Rugby is not only a sport, but a joy , fun and entertainment and once a student start participating in our try session will love to play and the majority will stay. Those who stay will certainly attract many other students towards playing rugby and the game will develop into a more playing sport in the country “ Said Roshan Hassanzoi, Kabul University Rugby Team captain and trainer.
The club was officially inaugurated by the vice president of Kabul University and chief executive officer of the Afghanistan Rugby Federation (ARF) in the presence of senior officials from Kabul University, Afghanistan Rugby Federation , Afghanistan Commercial Bank ( ACB) and hundreds of students from different faculties of the University.
After the inauguration ceremony Afghanistan Commercial Bank Rugby Team played an exhibition match against the Kabul University Rugby team and as a result Kabul University Rugby Team managed to beat the ACB Rugby team by 20-05.
“The sport will find a way to succeed since it is a tool for peace, prosperity and brotherhood in fact sport is a powerful tool to promote peace, tolerance and understanding, bringing people together across boundaries, cultures and religions. Its intrinsic values such as teamwork, fairness, discipline and respect are understood all over the world and can be utilized in the advancement of solidarity and social cohesion,” says Asad Ziar.
Rugby Sevens is already one of the world’s fastest growing sports, largely because it is one of the fastest sports in the world. Each and every second of the game is a thrill ride of non-stop action, with no time outs and breathtaking feats of athleticism piled one on top of another. As a spectator, it’s literally hard to look away since every play is potentially volatile.
About the Author
Asad Ziar is an Afghan Freelance Writer – Journalist – Social Activist and Philanthropist and he is known as the founder of Afghanistan Rugby Federation, He is the one who introduced rugby to Afghans
