Afghanistan’s first "U16 Youth Championship" has begun, with six teams from provinces in the "Central Zone" of the country playing in Kabul.

The competition started on Sunday with teams from Kabul, Bamiyan, Logar, Panjshir, Kapisa and Parwan province and will continue for a week. 

“The competition has been launched for the players from Kabul and other provinces to elect the talented faces for the national team,” said Suhail Sahrae, head of the youth committee of the Afghanistan Football Federation.

The players and coaches from the various provinces in the championship have criticized the federation for a lack of standard football fields in the provinces.  

“There are no standard fields in the province and the players train in non-standard fields,” said Tamim Sabir, head coach of U16 team of Kapisa. 

“This competition, which was launched in Kabul, will be a good experience for the players as they are playing on a very good field.” he said. 

Payman, a player from the Panjshir team, said: “There is more attention to players in Kabul, but still we are prepared for this competition.” 

At the end of the championship, top players will be invited to the national teams, officials said.