The Afghan Premier League (APL), also known as Rahmani Foundation Afghan Premier League for

sponsorship Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...

reasons, is a professional men's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

league run by the

Afghanistan Football Federation The Afghanistan Football Federation (A.F.F.) (Persian: فدراسيون فوتبال افغانستان) is the governing body of football in Afghanistan, controlling the men's and women's national teams. It was founded in 1922 and has been a mem ...

(AFF). It is the country's primary competition for the sport. The competition commenced in September 2012. The league is currently contested by eight teams. Seasons usually runs from September, followed by final series involving two highest-placed teams in each group. National champion gains qualification into the continental competition,

AFC Cup The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying s ...

. Most games are played at the

Afghanistan Football Federation Stadium The Afghanistan Football Federation stadium is a football stadium in Kabul, Afghanistan and competition venue for some clubs of Afghan Premier League. The AFF stadium has a capacity of 5,000, and the surface is made of artificial turf. See also ...

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

. Since the league's inaugural season, a total of three clubs have been crowned Afghan Premier League champions. The current champions, Shaheen Asmayee, have a record 6 premier league titles.

History

The League was established in 2012 with the first season running through September and October of that year. 8 teams were concurrently established in 2012 to become the inaugural competitors. Before 2012, the league in Afghanistan was broken down into 7 groups that covered the country. Players for the league were selected with the help of a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

talent show called ''Maidan e sabz'' ("The Green Pitch"),Roshan Afghan Premier League a hit with fans
by Tahir Qadiry (

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

, 22 September 2012) helmed by Mokhtar Lashkari, star of

Tolo TV TOLO ( fa, طلوع, , sunrise) is a commercial television station operated by MOBY Group in Afghanistan. Launched in 2004, it became one of the first commercial stations in the country and laid the foundation for an accessible media outlet by of ...

, Afghanistan's equivalent of ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...

''. The concept came from the

and the Afghanistan-based

MOBY Group Moby Media Group is the largest media company in Afghanistan. Moby Group is privately owned, with headquarters in Kabul and 15 bureaus throughout Afghanistan. The company also has an office in Dubai, where regional business is conducted. History ...

, 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. The

Afghan High Peace Council , native_name_a = , native_name_r = , type = Peace movement , seal = , seal_size = , seal_caption = , seal_alt = , logo = , logo_size ...

has praised the creation and development of the League as an, "opportunity to bring peace and stability" to Afghanistan. The process has given opportunities to minorities such as the Hazara who were treated as an underclass. Many players and supporters have undergone considerable trauma for which the League serves as a form of therapy. Along with the

Shpageeza Cricket League The Shpageeza Cricket League (SCL, also known as the Alokozay Cola Shpageeza Cricket League for sponsorship reasons and Etisalat Sixes T20) ( ps, شپږیزه کرکټ لیګ) is a Twenty20 cricket tournament organized by the Afghanistan Cricke ...

which started in 2013, Afghan Premier League football is one of the few big sporting competitions in Afghanistan, offering precious relief from the violence of every day life. Shaheen Asmayee F.C. have won a record 5 Afghan Premier League titles (

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

). They are the only team to have reached the Afghan Premier League final in eight consecutive seasons (2013–2020). In 2021, for the first time since the inaugural season, 6 teams instead of 8 are contesting the league due to financial reasons.

Champions

Wins by club

Clubs

2021 season (Safe Cup جام امن)

The following 6 clubs competed in the Premier League during 2021 season. In the 7th and final day of this competition, Shaheen Asmayee defeated Simorgh Alburz 2-0 and won the inaugural and only season of Safe Cup on 11 November, 2021.

Media coverage

Private media group

Moby Group Moby Media Group is the largest media company in Afghanistan. Moby Group is privately owned, with headquarters in Kabul and 15 bureaus throughout Afghanistan. The company also has an office in Dubai, where regional business is conducted. History ...

has the official rights to cover all matches of the APL. The matches are aired live on the company's two television channels in Afghanistan, namely TOLO and

Lemar Lemar Obika (born 4 April 1978), known as Lemar, is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially rising to fame after finishing third on the first series of British talent show ''Fame Academy'', he was later signed to Sony BMG ...

, and also offer live commentary on their radio stations,

Arman FM ARMAN FM is a general entertainment commercial radio station in Afghanistan. It broadcasts 24/7 in Dari and Pashto and is also available on live stream on ARMAN FM's website. History ARMAN FM takes its name from the Dari/Pashto word that means � ...

and Arakozia FM. Matches are also available live on the world's largest video sharing website

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

on the league's official YouTube page.

Sponsorship

Roshan Telecom is the title sponsor of Afghan Premier League after which it is named as Roshan Afghan Premier League. Official Partners of Afghan Premier League are

Afghanistan International Bank Afghanistan International Bank (AIB) is the largest bank in Afghanistan and the only Afghan bank with international transfer to all countries, with its head office in Kabul. The bank has thirty seven branch offices in the major cities of the coun ...

and

Hummel International Hummel International Sport & Leisure A/S, commonly known as Hummel (stylized hummel), is a Danish manufacturing company of sportswear brand based in Aarhus owned by Thornico. The company currently manufactures apparel for football, rugby league, ...

which provided kit for the teams.Afghan Premier League – Sponsors
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References

External links

Afghan Premier League Website
{{AFC Leagues 2012 establishments in Afghanistan Football leagues in Afghanistan Top level football leagues in Asia Sports leagues established in 2012