THE fourth annual Afghan Soccer Tournament, held in Northern Virginia July 1st- 4th, gathered thousands of fans for a fun-filled and exhilarating event.
The ten participating teams were: Kabura, Ariana, A.S.A., and Afghan United from Virginia; Ariana, Pamir, and Brishna, from New York; and Kabul Club, San Diego Soccer Club and Afghan United from California.
Each team consisted of at least 15 players, three of which were allowed to be "foreign". The teams paid a $400 participation fee to the
tournament to cover the costs of the event. Each of the four days consisted of two or three matches in the morning session and the same in the
evening session. In between the two sessions, the tournament became a bazaar for the fans where such items as food, jewelry, and rugs could
be purchased. On the last day of the tournament, Said Omar gave a concert on site.
The tournament ended with Afghan United (CA) scoring the last goal against Kabul Club, winning the final round (8-7) and a trophy for
their talent. This concluded the games with the three Californian teams in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places.
Former head coach, Hamid Haidari proclaimed, "It's tough to organize the guys--even just to get them out on the field...There's no money involved, just recreational so it's a hard task to get everyone motivated."
According to Hamid, at one point a few years ago, there was a highly organized, Northern California Soccer League consisting of
six teams. It eventually broke up. "Upper management didn't hold respect for the players so everyone got discouraged and eventually
stopped playing. Motivation lies in management's hands. The team needs full attention from management."
Former members of Afghan United and Afghan Club recently joined forces for the VA tournament. In this consolidation, 15 players were chosen out of more than 30 who regularly take part in local games. "Usually we start practicing a few months before the tournament, but this time we started a mere couple of weeks ahead."
"Most of our players have many years of experience playing soccer. Soccer is like a language, if you know it, you know
it--if you don't, you don't."
The atmosphere at the tournament was described as, "definitely competitive, yet in a friendly environment."
The key to the winning team's success was hard work and dedication. One player commented, "Players should put pressure on themselves. The expected outcome will set up the tone of the game."
As far as future plans for this star team goes, Afghan United will be the only Afghan team playing in the upcoming Iranian soccer tournament held on Labor Day weekend (September 1-3, 2000) in San Diego, CA.
