Sport in Afghanistan

The sports in Afghanistan are managed by the Afghan Sports Federation, which promotes cricket, football, basketball, volleyball, golf, handball, boxing, taekwondo, weightlifting, bodybuilding, track and field, skating, bowling, snooker, chess, and other sports. At the moment, cricket is the most popular sport in Afghanistan while football is also popular.

Cricket as a sport, is highly followed in Afghanistan and is one of the main sports that Afghans participate in and watch on television. In the national level, cricket matches are played between provinces, mainly between the south and eastern provinces of the country. According to locals, cricket has helped Afghanistan in bringing unity. The Afghanistan national cricket team was formed in 2001 and has held matches against all other international cricket teams. The Afghans rapidly rose through the World Cricket League since early 2008. It participated in the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier, and qualified for the first time for the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 in the 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division One. The Afghanistan national women's cricket team was formed in 2010. They have competed in the ICC World Twenty20 since their qualification in 2010 and their debut for the Cricket World Cup since 2015.