Attackers Stab Afghan National Soccer Team's Coach In Back

By RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan

January 11, 2015

The coach of the Afghanistan’s national soccer team has been stabbed and injured by unknown attackers in Kabul.

Kabul police say Mohammad Yousef Kargar was returning from a wedding ceremony at night on January 10 when he was attacked close to his Kabul home.

He was stabbed in the back and also suffered a head injury.

Kargar was listed in stable condition at a private Kabul hospital after undergoing surgery overnight.

The case, which may be the result of a personal dispute, was under investigation.

Kargar played a central role in rebuilding Afghanistan’s soccer program after the 2001 collapse of the Taliban regime, which had banned almost all sports and had used the Kabul soccer stadium for executions.

Kargar led Afghanistan’s national soccer team to win the South Asian Football Federation championship in 2013 when they defeated India 2-0.

With reporting by Reuters and DPA