APL

The Nangrahar Regional Tournament took place from April 28^th through 30^th in Sherzai stadium in Jalalabad. Four teams from the eastern region participated in the tournament: Nangrhar A, Nangrahar B, Laghman and Nuristan. This was the first time Nuristan participated in the tournament and played very well. Some of these players have to travel from their respective villages and districts under very difficult circumstances to be able to fulfill their passion for Football.

There were also seven players from Herat that for the first time participated in the Eastern region tournament for “De Abaseen Sape” instead of the Herat Tournament in the western region for “Toofan Harirod”. The players included very well known names like Rafi Barakzai, who also plays for the national team as well as Salim, Saleem, Manaan and Wazir. It was a very positive change to see players from different regions and different ethnic groups playing together on the same team.

AFF officials selected the 26 best players from these four teams based on their skills and performance. Those players will be further narrowed down to 21 players during an Intra-Squad match on June 17^th. The 26 players will be divided into two teams to play against each other. The 21 players selected by AFF officials from that match will be the final list of players officially representing the Eastern region and “De Spinghar Bazan”.