Afghanistan’s first buzkashi league held a tournament in Kabul on Wednesday with 200 participants from 14 provinces.

The competition will continue for a week, and each day four matches will be held. The aim is to elect the top athletes for the national team.

In the opening match, teams from Panjshir and Takhar competed, and Takhar beat Panjshir 2-1. Samangan beat Kapisa 8-0.

Teams from Kabul, Panjshir, Takhar, Samangan, Kapisa, Jawzjan, Balkh, Parwan provinces’ teams, among others, participated in the competition.

“We want youth from remote villages to come so we can elect the talented athletes,” said Sayfuddin Tandoghan, head of Afghanistan's Buzkashi Federation.

Toryalai, a player who participated in the competition, said: “We trained for the past five months and now we won the match from Panjshir. It was a very nice game.”

“This is a very good game that is also very good for the health,” said Aziz Amirkhan, another player.

Zabihullah, a player, said “this is our national game and it is very traditional. If such competitions were held more, we will get more experience. We hope that peace comes to our country so we can play in the future.”

In buzkashi, horse-mounted players attempt to place a goat or calf carcass--or substitute--in a goal.

Buzkashi is played in Central Asia and is the national sport in Afghanistan.