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Sports45 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 Joyous Afghans celebrate football win with dancing, gunfire KABUL: President Hamid Karzai embraced tions would have been unimaginable under Afghanistan’s victorious football team yester- the Taliban, who banned music and televi- day, hours after they united the nation in a sion and forbade women access to education rare moment of shared joy, but officials also and most public gatherings. told jubilant Afghans to stop firing guns into The Taliban also banned most sport, and the air in celebration. even used the national football stadium in The national men’s team beat India 2-0 to Kabul for public executions. win the South Asian Football Federation “Our youths proved that we have the abili- championship in Kathmandu late on Tuesday, ty to make progress and win,” Karzai said in a Afghanistan’s first international football title, statement issued by the presidential palace. sending tens of thousands of joyous Afghans Karzai’s office tweeted a picture of him into the streets. Fans in cars and on motor- watching the match in the palace. bikes joined others on foot, cheering, blowing Celebrations continued throughout horns and waving Afghan flags throughout Thursday, a brief respite for Afghans who fear the night. Many danced in the streets of the increased violence as most foreign troops capital, Kabul, after crowding around televi- prepare to leave by the end of next year. sion sets in their homes, restaurants and cof- The night erupted into gunfire in Kabul fee shops to watch the match. “Now I know and elsewhere across Afghanistan immedi- what being proud feels like, this is the happi- ately after the match as fans fired AK-47 est time in my life,” said fan Ahmad Bashir, an assault rifles - commonplace in many Afghan Afghan flag draped over his shoulders. households - and even machine-guns into “I have no idea what we will do if we ever the air in celebration. Witnesses said many of win the World Cup,” he said. Most of those out those firing into the air had been police. The in the streets of the strictly conservative gunfire panicked some residents, who feared Muslim country were men, although some an attack by the Taliban, and led to warning families in cars joined in the celebrations, sirens being sounded in some foreign many shouting “Zendabad Afghanistan!” embassies. (Long Live Afghanistan!). The Afghan interior ministry and the Afghans have struggled under the weight intelligence agency congratulated the of three decades of conflict, stretching back national football team in a statement. They through the occupation by former Soviet had to send out a second statement on forces, a civil war, austere rule under the Thursday urging people to stop the celebra- Taliban and then another 12 years of war tory gunfire because of the risk posed by since the Taliban were toppled. Such celebra- bullets falling back to earth. —Reuters Mazembe stars poised to reach CAF Cup semis JOHANNESBURG: Multi African title win- Mazembe have won the CAF ners TP Mazembe from the Democratic Champions League four times, the CAF Republic of Congo can secure a CAF Super Super twice and the now defunct Confederation Cup semi-finals place this African Cup Winners Cup once. weekend. Setting their sights on the 2013 Victory for the ‘Ravens’ over Algerian Champions League, Mazembe lost a quali- visitors Entente Setif Saturday would fier to South Africans Orlando Pirates and ensure a top-two finish in Group B of the were demoted to the Confederation Cup. second-tier club competition. Setif have drawn three matches and And the odds are in favour of the 2010 lost one and only an unlikely away win FIFA Club World Cup runners-up to Inter would bring the 1988 African champions Milan after forcing a 1-1 draw at Setif last back into the reckoning. month. “My immediate target is to win the Victory for Mazembe would also set up Confederation Cup,” says France-born Bizertin for a place among the last four Mazembe coach Patrice Carteron. provided they defeated 2010 He moved to southern Congolese min- Confederation Cup winners FUS. ing city Lubumbashi, where Mazembe are Having drawn 1-1 in Morocco last based, after taking Mali to third place at month, the Tunisians can be confident, the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. although a two-goal return from four The former Sunderland defender is con- games is a concern. sidered among the best young coaches on Fellow Tunisians CS Sfaxien, the only a continent where many of his compatri- club to win the nine-year Confederation ots have made a telling impact. Cup twice, clinched Group A two weeks Mazembe boast a multi-national squad ago. with Ghanaians, Malians, Tanzanians and The club from Mediterranean industrial Zambians bolstering local stars like play- city Sfax have won four consecutive maker and captain Tresor Mputu. games under coach and 1970s Dutch star Zambian Rainford Kalaba snatched the Ruud Krol. But who accompanies Sfaxien late match-winner at home to closest chal- to the knockout stage is wide open with lengers CA Bizertin of Tunisia two weeks compatriots Etoile Sahel, Stade Malien of ago. Mali and Saint George of Ethiopia in con- And Ghanaian Solomon Asante, tention. Tanzanian Mbwana Samata and Malian Etoile host Sfaxien in Sousse having lost Cheibane Traore scored in a 3-0 rout of the first encounter to a goal from consis- KABUL: Afghans watch their national football team as they celebrate victory in Moroccans FUS Rabat. tent Ivorian scorer Idrissa Kouyate. And the South Asian Football Federation Championship, at the Kabul stadium. But Mazembe have been less successful Stade have home advantage over a Saints Revenge-seeking Afghanistan broke India’s stranglehold on the South Asian away with the draw at Setif followed by a side containing many of the Ethiopia Football Federation (SAFF) title with an impressive 2-0 win over the two-time defeat at Bizertin, whose only CAF title squad that is 180 minutes away from the defending champions. —AFP came 25 years ago. 2014 World Cup in Brazil. —AFP.

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