No one knows what the future of Afghan sports will be

It’s a scary moment not only for the people living in Afghanistan but also for people leaving Afghanistan with the Taliban taking over. I have a lot of friends in Kabul and they are scared, they are shocked, but still harbour hopes that everything is going to be fine. At the moment, though, no one can predict what’s going to happen. They are staying at home, not venturing out, they don’t know what to do.

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There is panic on the ground, so you see people running around, trying to leave the country.

My family also moved out of Afghanistan briefly when Taliban first took control (between 1996 and 2001). My father took the decision to move us to Karachi.

Thank god, we don’t have any family members in Afghanistan at the moment. The last member of my family moved out of the country five years back. My immediate family is currently in different countries. I’m living in Canada with my three brothers. My sister is settled in Turkey and my parents and another bother’s family are in Pune but will soon join me over here. Five years back I moved to Montreal. This is the best decision we took.

Initially, I decided to move to India when I signed for Mumbai FC to play in the I-League. My parents moved out with me and since then we have stayed in Mumbai and Goa before settling in Pune when I signed for DSK Shivajians.

We took a decision to move to India because even during US control, the situation in Afghanistan wasn’t always safe as there was always the scare of a bomb going off.

During my young days football is what I turned to. We made makeshift footballs out of old, worn-out clothes, kept together by rubber bands and we played for hours on the streets and watched it on TV. Soon, I started playing in local matches in Kabul and my first professional club was Shoa FC for whom I started playing in 2005. Couple of years later I moved to Kabul Bank.

In 2011, Kabul Bank had come to Mumbai to play friendlies. Mumbai FC soon signed me and since my first season, I decided to settle in India.

I have been playing for Afghanistan since 2005 and was the captain when we won our first-ever SAFF Championship in 2013 by beating India. It was a proud moment for the entire country, which had gone through years of suffering.

About the future of sports in the country, to be honest, no one really knows what the future for Afghanistan will be.

For every young Afghan, who aspires to take up sports, I will advise them to work hard, be disciplined and be honest. Everybody deserves to dream, no matter which country you stay—if the country is safe or not safe—no one can take your dream away from you.

(Zohib Islam Amiri (aka Haroon Amiri), 31, was the Afghanistan captain when they won their first-ever SAFF championship in 2013 by beating India. He is playing in India since 2011 when he was signed by Mumbai FC. Since then, he has represented Dempo SC, FC Goa, DSK Shivajians, Gokulam Kerala and Real Kashmir.)

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