Registan.net

From a poignant video posted to YouTube:

Under the Taliban, Kabul’s football stadium was a place of fear and execution. Football was discouraged and spectators banned from cheering. But through all the years of oppression, love of the beautiful game remained. Now, in a symbol of the country’s rebirth, Afghanistan is rebuilding its national team. We follow football legend Ali Askar Lali as he returns from exile in Germany to select and train the new players. Working in farcical conditions, he tries to prepare the men for their first symbolic international match. Will the team be ready? And do they stand any chance of success?

Alas, they’ve disabled embedding, so you’ll have to click on the link to see it. For other stories of how football can be tied to broader questions of society and politics, I highly recommend How Soccer Explains the World by Franklin Foer.

Stumble it!