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Photos capture Afghanistan’s traditional buzkashi tournament near Kabul

On Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, Sar-e-Pul defeated Badakhshan 7-0 in the national league final near Kabul.
After the ban in the late 1990s, the sport returned, with the Taliban allowing it since 2021 and a gasoline company sponsoring prizes including cars for top teams.
The game uses a weighted, fake carcass of leather and rope stuffed with straw and weights, with 12 riders per team hanging out of the saddle amid chaotic scrums, and eight foreign players from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan also joined, Atal Mashwani said.
Thousands of men and boys packed the stands near Kabul, with Baghlan and Kunduz finishing third and fourth among 12 teams, while women and girls were excluded from attendance.
The sport's permitted revival suggests a growing formalization with corporate sponsorship by a gasoline company and eight foreign players from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, while thousands of male spectators attend and women and girls remain excluded.

Insights by Ground AI