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Persianleague
- Sep 27, 2002
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The football stadium used to be used by the Taliban to hold public executions
Imagine if the national teams of England, Scotland, Wales or Ireland stopped playing football for almost twenty years.

BBC - Well, in Afghanistan the national team hasn't played a match against another country since 1984!

But that's all about to change, as this weekend Afghanistan take on Iran in the Asian Games.

War and famine

The Afghans haven't been able to play football for so long because of war and famine, and then when the Taliban took control of the country in the mid 1990s they were banned from playing the sport.

In fact the football stadium was used as a place to hold public executions of those who broke the Taliban's rules.

This weekend the Afghan team will be up against players from all over Asia so it'll be tough, but win or lose, it'll be an historic occasion for Afghanistan.

Sayed Taher scores for Afghanistan in a friendly game
Sayed Taher scores for Afghanistan in a friendly game