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FOOTBALL: Afghanistan weeder Pakistan in a historic friendly match


  History. Tuesday, August 20, Afghanistan thrashed Pakistan in a friendly match in Kabul, the first played on Afghan soil since 2003. The final result could only rejoice fans Afghan football, beyond the victory, eagerly awaiting the first home game of their national team for ten years, in addition facing his great rival neighbor. The holding of this game is in itself "a major achievement for the country," stated a few days before the meeting, Aghazada Sayed, Secretary General of the Afghan Football Federation . Under the Taliban (1996-2001), the old stadium Ghazi was sadly more famous for the fact that the public stonings in football. Kabul accuses Pakistan of supporting Taliban Ravaged by war, Afghanistan continues to return to the football world after the creation last year of the Afghan Premier League, Championship National. Afghan selection occupies the 139th level the classification of the International Football Federation (FIFA), to Pakistan, which has stagnated at 167th. FIFA has invested nearly a million over the past decade for two projects in Kabul: the installation of a synthetic field at National Stadium and the construction of the headquarters of the Afghan Federation. The match against Pakistan was the first home for the Afghan national team since his confrontation against Turkmenistan in 2003 (2-0 loss), and the first since 1977 against Pakistan. Due to security risks, matches the selection had hitherto always held either on neutral ground or on the floor of the opponent. Ticket prices ranged from 100 to 300 afghanis (between 1.50 and 4 euros) for the game played on artificial turf in a stage of only 6000 seats. The Pakistani team had not set foot in Afghanistan since the Soviet invasion in 1979. Today, Afghan authorities regularly accuse Pakistan of supporting the Taliban in order to destabilize the government in Kabul. With news