Officials from the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) said that a 15-day A-Class futsal competition started in Kabul on Monday.

22 teams are participating. (Futsal is similar to football buy played in a smaller area on a hard surface, usually indoors.)

According to the AFF, at the end of the competition the top four teams will make their way to the National Futsal Premier League competitions and the best players will be selected for the national futsal teams.

Nazar Mohammad Motmain, director of the National Olympic Committee, called on FIFA to pay more attention to the Afghan football and to continue helping football in Afghanistan.“We ask FIFA to pay attention and assist AAF, because football has a lot of fans in Afghanistan,” he said.

Meanwhile, AAF director Mohammad Yusuf Kargar said futsal has developed steadily in recent years in the country. “Fortunately, futsal has developed significantly in the recent years in Afghanistan, futsal activities are continuing in all provinces of the country and AFF programs are going forward in line with the plans of the Asian and the World Football Federations,” Kargar said.

In the meantime, a number of coaches of the teams participating in the competition said the skills of futsal players in the country have significantly improved compared to previous years, and holding such competitions can be useful for the players.

“The futsal competitions are being held after a long delay and we are happy that the competition has resumed," said Romal Daudzai, a coach.

“These competitions motivate the players. Players train for years and expect such competitions to be held,” said Mojtaba Sekandari, a coach.