Sources say that the Taliban have rejected the request of elders and sports supporters in western Kabul to retain the name of the futsal team “Omid Shaheed Mazari.”
On Monday, April 6, sources confirmed that Taliban sports officials insisted to the elders and sports supporters that the name “Mazari” must be removed from the team.
According to sources, these individuals had visited Ahmadullah Wathiq, the General Director of Physical Education under the Taliban, Yousuf Kargar, the head of the Football Federation, and Hafiz Ahmadjan Zadran, the Technical Deputy of the Physical Education Directorate and the Football Federation, on Saturday and Sunday of this week, but their request was not accepted.
Earlier, local sources had reported that the futsal team “Omid Shaheed Mazari” was prohibited from participating in a futsal tournament in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh Province.
Sources said that Taliban sports officials told them that they must either change the team’s name or continue to be barred from competitions.
Sources previously told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that this decision was made by senior Taliban officials in Kabul.
This comes as, following the Taliban’s return to power, widespread restrictions have been imposed in various fields, including sports in Afghanistan, creating significant challenges for athletes.
You can read the Persian version of this news here:
منابع: طالبان نام «مزاری» را در تیم «امید شهید مزاری» نمیپذیرند
