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Reuters

With the relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan often marked by diplomatic fouls and offsides, it took a soccer match in Kabul to bring the neighbours together.
Billed as an indication of the country's gradual return to normality after decades of war and violence, the 6,000-seater stadium was sold out and the jubilant crowd cheered at every pass, erupting into a frenzy when the game ended 3-0 to Afghanistan.

The Fifa-sanctioned friendly was played at the Afghan Football Federation's stadium, where today the second season of the Afghan Premier League will kick off.
The last time the Pakistan national team played in Afghanistan was in 1977. Given the background of strained, sometimes violent, relations, the game was heavy with diplomatic significance, although that seemed to matter little to the Afghan crowd.
"I hope to come to many more international games here," said Haroon Shirzad, a 21-year-old student who was shirtless and painted from the waist to his hairline in the colours of the Afghan flag.
Youths such as Shirzad sat alongside men with long, grey beards in the excited crowd. There did not appear to be any women in the stands outside the VIP and media areas.
And though the mood was overwhelmingly positive and convivial, the match was a brief bright moment in an otherwise troubled and often bloody relationship.
Not only do the two nations not see eye to eye on their border - there have been several cross-border shelling incidents in recent years - Pakistan's role in the 12-year war in Afghanistan has been ambiguous.
Afghanistan has often accused Pakistan of making public pronouncements about wanting to help bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, but privately allowing elements of its intelligence community to support the insurgency
And while the game was celebrated as a chance to promote Afghanistan's future, the ghosts of the past were never far away.
"If this were a football match in Kabul during Taliban rule, half-time would have meant Namaz [prayers] or [you would receive] public punishment," tweeted one Afghan.
Other reminders were also present. The match was played less than a kilometre away from Ghazi Stadium, which today is used by the national football team to train.
During the brief rule of the Taliban, however, it was used for public executions and mutilations of people who had transgressed the Taliban's strict laws.
Once the match was finished the Afghan team ensured the crowd knew just how pleased they were to have beaten Pakistan - dancing in circles and waving large Afghan flags.
"I'm so proud that Afghanistan beat Pakistan; Pakistan has always looked down on us," Afghan head coach Mohammad Yousuf Kargar said.
A second game between the two nations is scheduled for December in the northeastern Pakistani city of Lahore.


Afghanistan beats Pakistan 3-0 in first soccer match since 1977

Afghan soccer team members are jubilant after their 3-0 win against arch-rival Pakistan in Kabul on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Sport

Football

Pakistan play in Kabul as Afghanistan tries to return to normality


Billed as an indication of the country's gradual return to normality after decades of war and violence, the 6,000-seater stadium was sold out and the jubilant crowd cheered at every pass, erupting into a frenzy when the game ended 3-0 to Afghanistan.
