Afghanistan Rugby Federation
The Afghanistan Rugby Federation (AFR) is the official rugby association of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan .
The aim of the AFR is to make young Afghan players and the team internationally competitive. This is intended to help strengthen national pride and solidarity among talented young Afghans.
background
Afghanistan has a native sport that is somewhat similar to rugby. This sport is called Buzkashi and can be compared to a cross between rugby and polo . The aim of the player is to grab the carcass of a headless goat or sheep and bring it over the goal line in front of the opponent. The game was called "Sheep Rugby" by the Society for Creative Anachronism in the 1970s. Rugby was only played sporadically in Afghanistan, often by invading armies. The game was first introduced from British India and was played by British troops. After their withdrawal, interest in the game disappeared. More recently rugby has been reintroduced by foreign forces and has been played jointly among British, Australian, French, Canadian and even American troops in their field camps. However, the Afghan people could not watch them play.
history
The Afghanistan Rugby Federation (ARF) was officially established on May 20, 2011 with the aim and intention of soon making rugby a sport in Afghanistan. The ARF is registered with the National Olympic Committee and approved by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Rugby Federation is in the process of becoming a nationwide organization. The ARF is confident that rugby will only thrive if the game is played by large numbers of the younger generation and has a plan for Afghan School Rugby (ASR). The aim of this project is to make the sport more popular in Afghanistan and to reduce drug addiction and criminal activities of the young generation through sport.
