Afghan Sports History

by Abdullah Qazi (Last updated February 14, 2010)

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Early 1900s

• During the reign of Amir Habibullah, Western-type sports such as tennis, cricket and golf were introduced.

1936

• Afghanistan competed (for the first time) at the Summer Olympic Games held in Berlin, Germany. No medals were won.

1948

• Afghanistan competed at the Summer Olympics in London. No medals were won.

1956

• Afghanistan competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, after having missed the 1952 Games in Helsinki. No medals were won.

1960

• Afghanistan competed at the Summer Olympics in Rome. No medals were won.

1964

• Afghanistan competed at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. No medals were won, however Afghan wrestler Mohammed Ebrahimi finished 5th in wrestling.

1967

• Kabul Golf Club opened.

1968

• Afghanistan competed at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. No medals were won.

1972

• Afghanistan competed at the Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. No medals were won.

1978

• The Kabul Golf Club was closed down.

1980

• Afghanistan competed in the Summer Olympics in Moscow (Soviet Union). No medals were won. Many nations including the United States boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

1984

• Afghanistan (under Communist rule) boycotted the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

1985

• Afghanistan National Gymnastic Federation was created.

1988

• Afghanistan competed at the Summer Olympics in Seoul. No medals were won.

1993

• The Kabul Golf Club was reopened.

1996

• Afghanistan competed at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. No medals were won.
• Afghanistan sends one athlete to the Paralympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
• In September 2006, the Taliban capture Kabul and a major restrictions were placed. Women were no longer allowed to participate in sports, and the Kabul Golf Club was closed down.

1998

• Afghan Sports Federation (ASF) was established. ASF is a non-profit organization based in Fairfax, Virginia of Metropolitan Washington D.C. area. Their goal is to promote "amateur sports among the Afghan youths and Adults both men and women at every level of excellence in the region, the United States and the world."

1999

• Afghanistan was banned from Olympic competition because of the Taliban. Afghanistan was also banned from the Paralympics as well.

2002

• Afghanistan was reinstated and allowed to once again compete in Olympic competition.

2004

• The Afghanistan Paralympics Federation (AFP) was founded on February 14th.  AFP is a sovereign body that  represents all the various categories of disabled athletes from around Afghanistan.
• Afghanistan returned to the Olympic Games at the Summer Olympics in Athens. Female athletes Friba Razayee and Robina Muqim Yaar represented Afghanistan for the first time in the country's history. No medals were won.
• In mid September, two athletes from Afghanistan, one of them a woman named Mareena Karim (first time in history), traveled to Athens to compete in the Paralympics Games.
• The Kabul Golf Club reopened - nine-hole golf course located near Kargha.

2006

• December 1 to 15: Afghanistan participated in the Asian Games held in Doha, Qatar.
• In 2006, the Afghanistan Football (Soccer) Federation was also created.

2007

• January 28 - February 4: Afghanistan participated in the Asian Winter Games which was held in Changchun, China.
• August 1: The National Basketball Association of Afghanistan was established.
• November 2: Afghanistan and Oman shared the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Twenty20 Cup.
• November 7: For the first time, a female boxing federation was established by Afghanistan's National Olympic Committee.
• November 11: For the first time, an Afghan Wushu team competed in the International Wushu Tournament  in Beijing. 
• December 29: Bodybuilding club for women was inaugurated in Parwan province.

2008

• Afghanistan's first-ever Kabul-Jalalabad cycle race (also known as the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Cycle Race) began on August 15th.
• Afghanistan competed at the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Rohullah Nikpai made history by winning Afghanistan's first Olympic medal. He defeated world champion Juan Antonio Ramos of Spain to take the bronze in the men's under 58-kilogram Taekwondo competition on August 20th.
• A five member Afghan Paralympics delegation participated in the Beijing Paralympics held from September 6 to September 15.

2009

• April 17: Afghan cricket team achieved ODI (One-Day International) status. In the Super Eight of the 2011 World Cup Qualifiers, Afghanistan finished fifth.

2010

• January 26: Afghanistan Sports Committee for the Deaf formed.
• January 29 - February 9th: Afghanistan participated in the 11th South Asian Games in Dhaka, Bangladesh.  Overall, they won 32 medals - 7 gold, 9 silver, and 16 bronze.
• February 13: Afghanistan's cricket team defeats the team from the United Arab Emirates - securing themselves a place in the World Twenty20 finals. This was the first time an Afghan team made it to the finals of a major ICC (International Cricket Council) tournament.