Afghan Premier League

Last updated
Afghan Premier League
Founded2012;12 years ago (2012)
Folded2020;4 years ago (2020)
Replaced by Afghanistan Champions League
CountryAfghanistan
Confederation AFC
Number of teams8
Level on pyramid1
International cup(s) AFC Challenge League
Last champions Shaheen Asmayee (5 titles)
Most championships Shaheen Asmayee (5 titles)
TV partners TOLO
Lemar
Eleven Sports
YouTube
(live streaming)
Website afghanpremierleague.com

The Afghan Premier League, also known as Rahmani Foundation Afghan Premier League for sponsorship reasons, [1] was a former professional men's football league run by the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) for Football in Afghanistan. It was the country's primary competition for the sport. The league was contested by eight teams. The competition commenced in September 2012. Seasons usually ran from September to October followed by a finals series involving the top two highest-placed teams in each of the two tables of four teams. The national champion gained qualification into the continental competition. Most games were played at the Afghanistan Football Federation Stadium in Kabul. [2]

Contents

Since the league's inaugural season, a total of three clubs were crowned Afghan Premier League champions. Shaheen Asmayee, won a record 5 premier league titles. The league is folded in 2020 and was replaced with the Afghanistan Champions League.

History

The Afghan Premier League was established in 2012 replacing the Kabul Premier League, with the first season running through September and October of that year. [3] 8 teams were concurrently established in 2012 to become the inaugural competitors. [4] Before 2012, the league in Afghanistan was broken down into 7 groups that covered the country. [5]

Players for the league were selected with the help of a reality television talent show called Maidan-e-sabz ("The Green Pitch"), [6] helmed by Mukhtar Lashkari, star of Tolo TV, Afghanistan's equivalent of The Oprah Winfrey Show . [7] The concept came from the Afghanistan Football Federation and the Afghanistan-based MOBY Group, which owns a number of TV channels and radio stations and is the largest media group in the country. MOBY Group channels will broadcast matches. Players were voted onto teams by a jury and by the television audience. The 34 provinces were grouped into eight larger zones. Eight teams of 18 players, one from every region, were formed. [8] [7]

The Afghan High Peace Council praised the creation and development of the League as an, "opportunity to bring peace and stability" to Afghanistan. [4] The process has given opportunities to minorities such as the Hazara who were treated as a underclass. Many players and supporters had undergone considerable trauma for which the League serves as a form of therapy. [7] Along with the Shpageeza Cricket League which started in 2013, Afghan Premier League football was one of the few big sporting competitions in Afghanistan, offering precious relief from the violence of everyday life. [9]

Shaheen Asmayee FC won a record 5 Afghan Premier League titles (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020). They were the only team to have reached the Afghan Premier League final in eight consecutive seasons (2013–2020). The league was discontinued after 2020 and replaced with the Afghanistan Champions League. [3]

Champions

YearWinnerFinals resultRunners-upTop Scorers (golden boot)Goals
2012 Toofan Harirod 2–1 Simorgh Alborz Hamidullah Karimi (Toofan Harirod)9
2013 Shaheen Asmayee 3–1 a.e.t. Simorgh Alborz Hamidullah Karimi (Toofan Harirod), Hashmatullah Barakzai (Shaheen Asmayee)7
2014 Shaheen Asmayee 3–2 Oqaban Hindukush Mohammad Riza Rizayee (Oqaban Hindukush)6
2015 De Spin Ghar Bazan 3–3 Penalties Shaheen Asmayee Mustafa Afshar (De Maiwand Atalan)5
2016 Shaheen Asmayee 2–1 a.e.t De Maiwand Atalan Amredin Sharifi (Shaheen Asmayee)6
2017 Shaheen Asmayee 4–3 a.e.t. De Maiwand Atalan Amredin Sharifi (De Maiwand Atalan)5
2018 Toofan Harirod 1–0 a.e.t. Shaheen Asmayee Yar Mohammad Zakarkhel (Toofaan Harirod) [10]
2019 Toofan Harirod 1–0 a.e.t. Shaheen Asmayee Raoof Qaderi (Shaheen Asmayee) [11]
2020 Shaheen Asmayee 1–0 Simorgh Alborz Javid Mirzad (Oqaban Hindukush),
Mostafa Rezaei (Simorgh Alborz)		3

League wins by club

ClubWinsWinning years
Shaheen Asmayee 5 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020
Toofan Harirod 3 2012, 2018, 2019
De Spin Ghar Bazan 1 2015

Media coverage

Private media group Moby Media Group had the official rights to cover all matches of the ACL. The matches were aired live on the company's two television channels in Afghanistan, namely TOLO and Lemar, [12] and also offered live commentary on their radio stations, Arman FM and Arakozia FM. Matches are also available live on the league's official YouTube page. [13]

Sponsorship

Roshan Telecom was the title sponsor of Afghan Premier League after which it was named as Roshan Afghan Premier League from 2012 to at least 2018. [14] Official Partners of Afghan Premier League were Afghanistan International Bank and Hummel International which provided kit for the teams. [15]

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Shaheen Asmayee or the Asmayee Falcons is a professional football club from Afghanistan. It last played in the Afghan Premier League, representing greater Kabul.

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De Spin Ghar Bazan or the Spin Ghar Hawks, is a professional football team in Afghanistan. It last played in the Afghan Premier League, the Afghan league for association football clubs.

The 2013 Afghan Premier League season was the second sedition of Afghan Premier League, the Afghan league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2012. The season began on 22 August 2013 with the group stage and ended at the final on 11 October 2013.

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The 2014 Afghan Premier League is the third season of Afghan Premier League, the Afghan league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2012. The season started on 28 August 2014 with the group stage. Shaheen Asmayee enters the season as the defending champions, having defeated Simorgh Alborz 3–1 in the 2013 final. It was Shaheen's first title and championship, with Simorgh's second runner up title, after two seasons in a row making it to the final of the country's league football.

The 2015 Afghan Premier League was the fourth season of Afghan Premier League, the Afghan league for association football clubs, launched in 2012. Shaheen Asmayee F.C. were the defending champions of the league. The season started on 27 August 2015 with the 8 teams again divided into two groups. Shaheen Asmayee again reached the Afghan Premier League final and faced off against De Spin Ghar Bazan F.C. It was the first time De Spin Ghar reached the final of the league, winning it 4-3 on penalties, after neither had managed to score until the end of the extra time. Eight yellow cards were handed out in the final.

The 2015 Afghan Premier League Final was the final match of the 2015 Afghan Premier League, the 4th season of Afghanistan's premier club football tournament organised by Roshan.

The 2016 Afghan Premier League tournament was the fifth edition of Afghan Premier League annual association football club competitions established in 2012. The tournament started on 25 August 2016 with the same 8 team and two groups configuration as the 2016 tournament.

The 2017 Afghan Premier League was the sixth season of Afghan Premier League, the Afghan league for association football clubs established in 2012. Shaheen Asmayee were the champions of the season.

The 2018 Afghan Premier League is the seventh season of Afghan Premier League, the Afghan league for association football clubs established in 2012. The season was initially postponed due to lack of funding, but was revived after new sponsors were secured.

Fikr wa Talash was an Afghan television programme, presented by Ramiz Baktiar. The format of the show is owned by Sony Pictures Television and is based on the original Japanese programme, Tigers of Money, which has been adapted worldwide into the popular Dragons Den/Shark Tank franchise. The programme was produced by NGO Bamyan Media. The show premiered on TOLO TV in 2008, after the success of Afghan Star, an Afghan reality television programme.

The 2019 Afghan Premier League was the eighth season of Afghan Premier League, the Afghan league for association football clubs, which was launched in 2012. The season commenced on 20 August 2019. Toofan Harirod F.C successfully defended their title by defeating Shaheen Asmayee F.C in the final, 1-0 a.e.t.

The 2020 Afghan Premier League was the ninth season of Afghan Premier League, the Afghan league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2012. The season commenced on 24 September 2020. Shaheen Asmayee won their fifth title, defeating Simorgh Alborz in the final, 1–0.

References

  1. ↑ "Afghan Premier League on Latestinfos.com". Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  2. ↑ "Preview & post reports". APL. AFL. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Afghanistan - List of Champions". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  4. 1 2 Rezwan Natiq; Mir Sayed (10 October 2012). "Afghan Football League Heads to First Semi-Final". Tolo News . Archived from the original on October 15, 2012.
  5. ↑ Activity Report Second quarter 2007. Afghanistan Football Federation. 2008 [circa]. Archived from the original on 18 September 2008. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  6. ↑ Roshan Afghan Premier League a hit with fans Archived 2019-08-28 at the Wayback Machine by Tahir Qadiry (BBC News, 22 September 2012)
  7. 1 2 3 Guido Mingels (October 25, 2012). "New Football League Helps Heal Afghanistan". Spiegel Online . Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Talent search at Hindukush" (in German). fussball.de. 28 August 2012. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  9. ↑ "Afghanistan cricket fans defy bombers as T20 league takes off - Sports News". India Today . Reuters. September 15, 2017. Archived from the original on October 19, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  10. ↑ "A quick review of the RFAPL 2018". APL. October 31, 2018. Archived from the original on October 19, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  11. ↑ "A quick review of the APL 2019". APL. October 2, 2019. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Afghans Launch First Professional Football League". nz.sports.yahoo.com. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  13. ↑ "YouTube – Afghan Premier League". YouTube . Archived from the original on 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  14. ↑ "Roshan Renews Commitment to Support Afghan Premier League". TOLOnews . 2015-07-09.
  15. ↑ "Afghan Premier League – Sponsors". Archived from the original on 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2012-10-19.
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