1st winter summit at the Anatolian summit (WISAS): Collaborative Projects on tourism, sports, Biodiversity, and Global changes.

Date: 26th Feb 2012

Venue: Ataturk University Culture and Exhibition Centre, Erzurum Turkey

Growth of Sport in Afghanistan:

Dr Said Agha Tarakhail

SPORT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

HISTORY OF SPORT Sports are timeless activities; ones that

humans have enjoyed since at least ancient times, as exemplified by the Greek Olympic Games. Indeed, ethnographic and archaeological evidence such as cave paintings and the accounts of early European explorers indicate sports may well go back to the very beginning of humankind

SPORT DEVELOPMENT Sport development is the promotion of

sports activities for the community. Successful sports development depends largely on effective partnership and networking with a wide range of community groups, service providers, facility operators, National Governing bodies, local authorities and voluntary groups.

 GROWTH OF SPORT INDUSTRIES : 

The global economic slowdown is a concern but sports revenues worldwide should grow by about 3.7 percent to $145.3 billion by 2015

Growth of Sports Industry Media Coverage has significantly Increased.

200 million people watched NBC coverage of the Summer Olympic Games, and 3.7 billion people watched worldwide ESPN, the original sports-only network launched in 1979, reaches some 76 million homes with its 4900 hours of sports programming and, ESPN2 reaches 65 million viewers.

$2.3 billion to secure the broadcast and cable rights for the Olympic Games in 2004, 2006, and 2008 and additional $2.2 billion for 2010 and 2012. Overall for the week, NBC averaged 26.7 million viewers in primetime during the Olympic Games.

OPPORTUNITY IN SPORT INDUSTRIES There are 13 major career areas in sport: Event suppliers, Event management and marketing, Sports media, Sports sponsorship, Athlete services, Sports commissions, Sports lawyers, Manufacturers and distribution, Facilities and facility suppliers, Teams, Leagues, College athletics, and finance Marketing & Public Relations

Professional

SPORT IN AFGHANISTAN Afghanistan sports and games are some

how limited than the other South Asian countries, however, the Afghan athletes are trying hard to gain back what they have lost in last three decades of war.

SPORTS SPECIAL TO AFGHANISTAN Tent-pegging Kite Fighting--Participants cover the

strings of their kites with a mixture of powdered glass and flour. Then they outmaneuver each other in order to cut the string of an opponent's kite. They do this by rubbing the strings together; this sport is mostly played by children and young teenagers.

Topay-danda--(Similar to stick ball)

POPULAR UNIVERSAL SPORTS PLAYED IN AFGHANISTAN Buzkashi Cricket Wrestling (Palwani) Boxing Martial Arts Basketball Soccer Bicycle racing Archery Shooting Running

BUZKESHI: NATIONAL GAME OF AFGHANISTAN

This national game is believed to be played in Afghanistan since the days of Ghengiz Khan, the Mongol warrior whose army swept across Asia in the 13th century. The Dari (Persian) name Buzkashy means "goat-pulling" and is played on horseback by two opposing teams.

CRICKET THE MOST POPULAR GAME IN AFGHANISTAN Afghanistan is the rising star of Asian cricket. Already with a global following, it plays with dash and

panache, cares only for winning and considers every match played to be a matter of national honour.

Since becoming an ACC member its progress has been rapid and it has reached unprecedented heights for an Affiliate nation.”

YOUNG PEOPLE – OUR TARGET Afghanistan has the highest proportion of

young people in the world, with 60% of the country’s population below the age of 21.

THE CHART SHOWS THE LARGE POPULATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN

THE AFGHAN POPULATION

VALUE OF SPORTS FOR AFGHANISTAN “Sport, as a universal language, can be a powerful vehicle to

promote peace, tolerance and understanding by bringing people together across boundaries, cultures and religions. In conflict or post-conflict situations, sport can help to create a structured, constructive outlet for the people affected, an outlet that is oriented towards peaceful resolution of aggression and tensions.

Governments and international agencies are increasingly recognizing sport as an important, powerful and underexploited tool for development in post-conflict reconstruction.”

UN Report on the International Year of Sport

and Physical Education, 2005: “Sport for a Better World.”

UN RESOLUTION 2010 The UN “invites Member States ....... to promote

greater awareness and action to foster peace and accelerate the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals through sport-based initiatives and promote the integration of sport for development and peace in the development agenda.”

UN, 14 October, 2010 The resolution speaks of “using sport

as a tool for development and peace.”

UN Resolution A/65/270

ACHIEVEMENTS OF AFGHAN’S IN THE FIELD OF SPORTS IN THE PAST 10 YEAR’S 1999 Afghanistan was banned from Olympic competition

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

2000 Cricket was one of the few sports allowed by the Taliban in

Afghanistan. 2001 Afghanistan's national cricket team was formed. Afghan cricket team became a member of the

International Cricket Council (ICC). 2002 Afghanistan was reinstated and allowed to once again

compete in Olympic competition.

2003 Afghan cricket team became a member of the Asian

Cricket Council (ACC). 2004 The Afghanistan Paralympics Federation (AFP) . 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 but no medals were won.

In mid September, two athletes from Afghanistan, one of them a woman , traveled to Athens to compete in the Paralympics Games.

The Kabul Golf Club reopened - nine-hole golf course located near Kargha.

2005 Afghan cricket team were finalist in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) U-15

Cup. 2006 Afghan cricket team was finalists in the Middle East Cup Doha Qatar.

2007 Afghanistan participated in the Asian Winter Games which were

held in Changchun, China. Afghan Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Siyar Bahadurzada

defeats Japan's Shikou Yamashita to win the Shooto light heavyweight championship.

For the first time, a female boxing federation was established by Afghanistan's National Olympic Committee.

For the first time, an Afghan Wushu team competed in the International Wushu Tournament in Beijing.

Bodybuilding club for women was inaugurated in Parwan province.

Afghan cricket team were finalists in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) U-19 Elite Cup

2008 Afghanistan's first-ever Kabul-Jalalabad cycle race began

on August 15th. In late August, the first female weightlifting competition

was held in Kabul. 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.

Afghan cricket team won the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) U-17 Challenge Cup, won the Pepsi International Cricket Council World Cricket League Division 4, came in third in the Asian Cricket Council Trophy Elite, and won the International Cricket Council World Cricket League Division 5.

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

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 defeated 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.

April 9: In cricket, Afghanistan defeated Nepal to win for the first time, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Trophy Elite competition.

November 17: Afghan golf team makes Asian Games debut in

Guangzhou, China. November 26: Afghan cricket team won a silver medal in the 16th

Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

December 4: Afghanistan defeated Scotland by 7 wickets to win the International Cricket Council (ICC) Intercontinental Cup trophy.

2011 January 15: Afghanistan joined Bangladesh, India, Nepal,

Sri Lanka and Pakistan to create the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Baseball Federation (BBF).

April 24: Afghan women boxers, Sadaf Rahimi and Shogofa Haidarzada, competed in the inaugural AIBA (International Boxing Association) World Youth and Junior Championships in Antalya, Turkey.

June: Afghan bodybuilding team wins the 8th South Asian Bodybuilding Championship.

April 30: Mohammad Seyar Azadani, representing Afghanistan, won the Kata competition in the 3rd USA Kyokushin-kan Karate Open Championships.

December 11: Afghanistan finished in second place at the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup.

Thank you!