Sport
ATN to broadcast World Cup Qualifier; Here’s what you need to know
The long-awaited 2023 ODI World Cup Qualifiers finally gets underway on Sunday (June 18) and once again Ariana Television Network (ATN) is thrilled to announce it has secured the rights to broadcast the matches live in Afghanistan.
The qualifiers will run through until July 9 and all matches will be broadcast on Ariana Television.
The qualifiers will see 10 teams battle it out for the final two available spots in the World Cup which is scheduled for October and November in India.
Afghanistan, India, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia, and South Africa have already sealed their World Cup spots.
However, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Netherlands, along with five Associate nations – Oman, Scotland, UAE, Nepal and USA – will get another crack at making the main event through the qualifier.
Only two of these ten sides will eventually take part in this year’s World Cup.
So how does the qualifier work?
All matches will have ODI status, and the ten teams have been split into two groups of five. Group A includes Nepal, Netherlands, USA, West Indies and Zimbabwe, while Group B consists of Ireland, Oman, Scotland, Sri Lanka and UAE.
Each side will play four group matches, facing the others in their group once, in a round-robin format. The winner of each game will be awarded two points, while ties and no-results will fetch one point each.
After the 20 group-stage matches are done, the top three sides from each group will progress to the Super Six, carrying over their points. Each team in the Super Six will face the three qualifying teams from the opposite first-round group.
Once complete, the top two teams on the Super Six table will qualify for the 2023 World Cup.
However, there will be a match between the top-two Super Six sides, with the winner taking home a shiny trophy. But the final will be a win-win game for both sides, since they would have both booked their World Cup berths.
The tournament commences on June 18, with the group-stage games finishing on June 27.
The Super Six will run from June 29 to July 7, while the final will take place on July 9 at Harare Sports Club.
Playoffs to decide seventh to tenth places will take place from June 30 to July 6.
On Saturday, teams got the chance to experience a safari ahead of the qualifiers and team captains made use of the opportunity for a group picture, along with the trophy.
Ariana Television Network will broadcast the matches daily live on TV and Website.
Pre-match shows will start at 11am (Kabul time), while the day’s match will start at 11.30am (Kabul time).
Matches are streamed live on Ariana Television websites simultaneously:
www.arianatelevision.com/live and www.arianatelevision.com/icc-live
CLICK HERE for the broadcast schedule on Ariana Television
The national buzkashi team of Afghanistan delivered an impressive performance to claim third place at the 2026 World Kokpar Championship in Kazakhstan.
Afghanistan dominated the group stage with commanding victories—thrashing Hungary 14–0, defeating Russia 5–0, and overcoming Mongolia 7–0—to top Group B and advance to the semi-finals.
Despite a strong effort, Afghanistan fell 4–2 to Uzbekistan in the semi-finals. However, the team responded emphatically in the third-place playoff, beating Russia 6–0 to secure the bronze medal.
Alongside their podium finish, Afghanistan was awarded 4,500,000 Kazakh tenge (around 9,400 US dollars) by the International Kokpar Federation, capping off a successful campaign on the global stage.
Ireland cricket officials have announced that they will host Afghanistan for a five-match ODI series from August 5–14.
Other international teams including Australia and England have either cancelled or avoided scheduling bilateral series against Afghanistan since the Islamic Emirate regained power in 2021.
“Cricket Ireland has made a decision to play Afghanistan in Belfast this year,” CI chief executive Sarah Keane said on Friday. “I’m not going to fob you off by saying that there’s financial reasons and there’s legal reasons. There aren’t. This has been a decision by Cricket Ireland in what it believes is the best interest of the organisation as a whole, and the decision was made by the board this week.”
Afghanistan’s national buzkashi team was eliminated from the Kokpar World Championship after losing 4–2 to Uzbekistan in the semifinals on Friday.
The defeat prevented the Afghan team from reaching the final, ending their hopes for the tournament title.
Earlier in the tournament, Afghanistan had secured victories over Hungary, Mongolia, and Russia, showcasing strong performances in the opening rounds.
The international Kokpar competition was hosted in the city of Turkistan, Kazakhstan, bringing together top teams from around the world.
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