Sport
ATN holds draw for Afghanistan Futsal Premier League Season 4
Ariana Radio & Television Network (ATN) on Saturday held the draw for the fourth season of the Afghanistan Futsal Premier League (AFPL) at its sports studio on Saturday, with officials from the country’s Sports Authority and Football Federation in attendance.
The ceremony, broadcast live on ATN and Ariana News channels, determined the fixtures for all 18 weeks of the fourth season of the Premier Futsal League, allowing teams to learn who their opponents will be.
Ten teams will compete in this season of the Afghanistan Premier Futsal League. The matches are scheduled to begin on June 6 and will be held at the futsal gymnasium of the Afghanistan Football Federation.
According to the draw, Sadaqat FC and Noorzad FC will play the opening match.
Other first-week fixtures include:
Perozi Panjshir vs. FC Arya Forj
Omid FC vs. Zaher Asad
Zaitoon FC vs. Deyar-E-Sanayee
Jawanan Maihan vs. Etihad FC
In a joint initiative by the Futsal Committee and Ariana Television, the full fixture list for all 18 weeks has been released in advance, so teams are fully aware of their opponents throughout the season.
ATN holds exclusive rights to produce and broadcast the fourth season of Afghanistan’s Premier Futsal League live on its TV channels and digital platforms.
The fourth season of the Afghan Futsal Premier League will include 90 matches, and for the first time, the tournament will be played on a round-robin basis.
Two matches will be held every day, except Saturdays. The first match will start at 4:00 PM and the second match at 6:00 PM.
ATN’s support helps futsal flourish
ATN has consistently supported the development of futsal in Afghanistan and made sure that the growing fan base across the country got to see their national team in action at the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan last year.
Matches were broadcast live and millions of viewers cheered their team on in what was Afghanistan’s first ever appearance at the global showpiece.
A World Cup debut wasn’t however Afghanistan’s only high during the course of 2024 as they also played in the AFC Futsal Championship for the first time.
While Afghanistan appears to be scripting yet another sporting fairy tale, this time in futsal, development of players on home ground is critical – hence the importance of domestic tournaments such as the Afghanistan Futsal Premier League.
Futsal fans around the country will meanwhile be able to watch this exciting tournament live and exclusively in Afghanistan on Ariana Television.
With only three weeks to go before kick off, fans can follow Ariana News and Ariana Television’s social media pages for news, updates and schedules on this upcoming tournament.
The Afghanistan Football Federation announced on Tuesday that Afghanistan’s under-15 national football team has qualified for the FIFA U-15 World Cup, marking a significant achievement for the country’s youth football development.
According to the federation, the qualification comes as a result of sustained efforts and strategic planning aimed at strengthening grassroots football across Afghanistan.
The federation said the successful organization of under-14 competitions in different zones of the country helped pave the way for the U-15 national team to secure a place in the global tournament.
In a statement, the federation said the achievement also follows efforts by its leadership, particularly Mohammad Yousuf Kargar, who held discussions with officials of FIFA while emphasizing the development of youth football in Afghanistan.
The tournament, part of FIFA’s global talent development program, aims to nurture young players, improve technical ability, provide international exposure, and prepare the next generation of footballers.
The competition will take place in Azerbaijan from October 22 to 31, 2026, with under-15 teams from FIFA member nations set to participate.
Players born in 2011 and 2012 will be eligible for the tournament.
Matches will be played in an 8-versus-8 format designed to maximize ball involvement, develop individual skills, improve decision-making, and provide young players with valuable international competition experience.
Afghanistan’s participation is being seen as a major opportunity for the country’s emerging football talent to compete on the world stage and further elevate the profile of Afghan youth football.
Sport
Afghanistan, Uzbekistan set for friendly cricket clash in Khost
The match will be played during a cricket league, and is part of the Cricket Development Support Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the ACB and the Cricket Federation of Uzbekistan in December last year.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced that it will host Uzbekistan’s national cricket team for a one-off T20 international on July 10 at the Rahmat Wali Masroori Cricket Ground in Khost province.
According to the ACB, the match will be played during a cricket league, and is part of the Cricket Development Support Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the ACB and the Cricket Federation of Uzbekistan in December last year.
The friendly match is scheduled to begin at 9:00 AM, with an Afghan XI taking on the visiting Uzbek side. The game will be broadcast live across Afghanistan and internationally through various linear and digital platforms.
Quoted by the ACB, Chief Executive Officer Naseeb Khan said the board remains committed to supporting emerging cricket nations such as Uzbekistan and is ready to extend similar assistance to other countries seeking to develop the sport.
He noted that the ACB has already organized capacity-building programs and training workshops for members of the Cricket Federation of Uzbekistan, while several Uzbek fast bowlers also participated in the ACB’s specialized Fast Bowling Camp last year.
Khan added that Uzbekistan has consistently maintained a friendly policy toward Afghanistan and that the two countries have strengthened cooperation in healthcare, politics, and trade in recent years. He said closer collaboration in cricket development would further deepen relations between the two neighboring nations.
Sport
Serbian Dejan Dedovic appointed head coach of Afghanistan national futsal team
Dedovic will lead Afghanistan’s preparations for upcoming regional and international competitions, overseeing the team’s technical development and training programs.
The Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) has appointed Serbian coach Dejan Dedovic as the new head coach of the national futsal team on a two-year contract.
The agreement was signed during a ceremony attended by AFF officials, futsal committee members, technical staff, and sports journalists.
Dedovic will lead Afghanistan’s preparations for upcoming regional and international competitions, overseeing the team’s technical development and training programs.
The federation also announced several additions to the national team’s coaching staff. Iran’s Javad Asghari Moqaddam has been appointed technical director, while Morteza Mansour Samaei will serve as goalkeeping coach. Spain’s Uriel Masana has joined as assistant coach, Iran’s Sadeq Amani as fitness coach, and Brazil’s Joao Lira as team analyst.
In addition, the AFF renewed the contract of Mohammad Nasir Sedaqat as manager of the national futsal team.
The federation said it expects the newly assembled coaching staff to contribute to the continued development of Afghan futsal and strengthen the team’s competitiveness at the regional and international levels.
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