The first edition of Afghanistan’s Under-17 Champions Football League has kicked off in Kabul with 10 teams from five provinces competing in the country’s premier youth football competition. The 24-day tournament aims to identify emerging talent and strengthen youth football development.
Kabul | By Sara Amiri
The inaugural Afghanistan Under-17 Champions Football League has begun in Kabul, bringing together 10 of the country’s top youth teams from five provinces.
Organized by the Afghanistan Football Federation in cooperation with the General Directorate of Physical Education and Sports, the tournament will run for 24 days, with the participating teams contesting 45 matches to determine the first-ever league champion.
Two matches were played on the opening day of the competition.
In the first fixture, Abu Muslim Farah and Khorasan Faryab played to a 1-1 draw, sharing the points in an evenly contested match.
Later in the day, Etifaq Khanzada Kandahar defeated Jawanan Piroozi Kabul 2-1 to claim the tournament’s opening victory.
According to the organizers, the league has been established to promote grassroots football by improving the technical and tactical abilities of young players, identifying promising talent and creating a pathway for youth footballers to progress to Afghanistan’s senior Champions League and national teams.
The competition marks another step in the Afghanistan Football Federation’s efforts to strengthen the country’s youth football structure through organized national competitions.
The Under-17 Champions Football League is Afghanistan’s newest national youth football competition, bringing together leading youth clubs from across the country. The tournament is designed to provide young players with competitive experience while supporting long-term talent identification and player development for Afghan football.