Afghanistan’s first National Rugby team WITH VOICEOVER

Independent Films, Politics, Documentaries

Started by a young Afghan businessman who return from the UK with a passion for rugby, Afghanistan's first ever rugby federation has produced a formidable national team.

For the official website, visit http://www.natochannel.tv. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty signed on 4 April 1949. NATO constitutes a system of collective defense in response to an attack by any external party. The NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium.

DISCLAIMER: No material produced by NATO is to be sold, used for outside advertising or promotional purposes of any kind. All content taken from NATO and republished must be clearly credited or sourced to NATO. Photos, videos and articles are released under the legally recognized terms of "Fair Use" to members of the press, academia, non-profits and the general public. No material is to be used in programs, articles or online publications of any kind that defame NATO or its member countries. Material is provided, free of charge, for use in objective and balanced content, even if at times the end products may be critical of NATO. In instances where a member country is criticized, NATO wishes it to be made known that it does not associate itself with the contents of the article, publication or broadcast. NATO reserves the right to request the removal of NATO copyrighted material from any externally created content.

Transcripts / Production notes / Scripts

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT


--VOICEOVER--
In 2010, a young Afghan businessman returned to Afghanistan from the UK with a mission to create Afghanistan's first ever rugby federation.

--SOUNDBITE (ENG)--
“I saw the popularity, energy and the physical activity in this Rugby game I really liked it and the way they tassel and the way the physics is involved in this game, I thought that this energetic and full of physical game would be a perfect match for Afghanistan’s people”.

--VOICEOVER—
After the creation of the federation, they faced the challenge of scouting players in a country where rugby had never been played. However, Afghan athletes warmly welcomed the new sport.

--SOUNDBITE (ENG)—
“We arranged this Rugby camp on the day first there was like 5 people than 10 people and than 40 people and then we started up this one month camp here in Kabul and we selected our national team.”

--VOICEOVER—
The majority of players from Afghanistan's national rugby team say that even before the federation was created, they were already interested in rugby and watched games on TV.

--SOUNDBITE (DARI)—
“I was really interested in Rugby and I was watching Rugby matches on TV all the time. But unfortunately we didn’t have an opportunity to play Rugby in Afghanistan. But fortunately now we have some possibilities and it has been two years now that we are playing Rugby.”

--VOICEOVER—
Now Afghanistan's rugby federation is firmly established, there are more than 25 rugby clubs and 250 rugby players in Kabul. Afghanistan's national rugby team has competed in national and international friendlies where they've had a good winning streak.

--SOUNDBITE (DARI)—
“Our first competition was with our neighbours, Pakistan, in Lahore, There were 16 teams and we came third. During that competition I was selected as man of the match. After that we also had a friendly match in Dubai with Shaheen Rugby team.”

--VOICEOVER—
Although rugby is now a new official sport in Afghanistan, the majority of the national team still say they face lots of challenges like suitable grounds, equipment and especially a coach to train them.
But in the face of all these problems the athletes are very optimistic about the future of rugby in Afghanistan.

--SOUNDBITE (DARI)—
“Our athletes are trying really hard during training, they are strong physically and in tactics, but the only problem that we still have is that we don’t have a proper coach or trainer. If we have a coach I am very sure the day is not far away when we'll participate in the Rugby World cup.”

--VOICEOVER—

Sayed Mansoor reporting for Nato channel in Kabul, Afghanistan.
####

Tags

• Afghanistan’s first National Rugby team
• North Atlantic Treaty
• NATO organization
• NATO members
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• NATO's purpose
• NATO and Politics