Producer’s Notebook: Afghan Cup
One of AAMTV’s favorite days of the year took place this past weekend: the thirteenth annual Afghan Cup, an event organized by the Afghan Sports Federation that brings Afghan-Americans from all across the country to compete in a weekend of soccer, ping pong, basketball and volleyball tournaments.
The contests always culminate on a Sunday, with a championship soccer game, trophy ceremony and a concert featuring a popular Afghan singer. This year, Najim Nawabi –an Afghan singer famous for his song Kabul Jaan (Kabul Beloved) – played to a packed house of athletes and spectators.
Afghan Cup is a favorite AAM TV day – offering a chance to eat delicious chicken, rice and naan; opportunities to browse the clothing and jewelry stands (I bought a favorite pair of lapis lazuli earrings there last year) and the welcome bonus of running into former PUL guests! Special congratulations to Aneesa Azizi, a guest on the PUL Ramadan episode, who was a member of the championship soccer team!
This year, our coverage of Afghan Cup focused on the athletes and their stories. We interviewed several young women who played on the championship volleyball and soccer teams. They spoke honestly about what it’s like to be an Afghan woman interested in sports and the experience of competing in front of their entire community.
Afghan Cup also creates an opportunity for Afghans to visit the United States and see the Afghan-American community. PUL was honored to be able to interview the head of the Afghan National Soccer team as well as a member of the 1974 Afghan National Soccer team. They shared memories of Afghanistan’s rich sports history and efforts to bring Afghan professional play back up to international standards.
As always, AAM TV benefited from the generous help of the Afghan Sports Federation. We’ll look forward to next year and hope that the weather in the D.C. area is just as beautiful as it was for this year’s contest. Look for this episode to be posted to AAM TV in the coming weeks!