Players Carp over Lack of Buzkashi Field

Bamyan (The Killid) – Provincial Chapandazan and sport enthusiasts complain over lack of field for the Afghan national sport Buzkashi, and urged relevant sectors to pay attention on their needs.

Ghazaluddin (who goes with a single name), one of the Chapandazan (players) in central Bamyan, said to The Killid, “Has been five years that I own a horse and do sport on it, but no supports have been provided by local officials for the Bamyani Chapandaz in this area.”

According to Ghazaluddin, their passion for the game moves them to provide their needs themselves.

Mirza Hussain, another Chapandaz, said he plays this game for over 14 years now and had never witnessed any support from the government – not even a proper field.

Meanwhile, Mehri (also with a single name), one of the spectators and a sport enthusiast said, “Sport generally play role in unity of the people, and Buzkashi – one of the local sports – brings people together regardless of any bias and ethnic discrimination to enjoy the game.”

Buzkashi is the national sport and a “passion” in Afghanistan where it is often played on Fridays and matches draw thousands of fans.

Also, Buzkashi is a Central Asian sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal. Similar games are known as kokpar, kupkari and ulak tartysh in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan and as kökbörü and gökbörü in Turkey, where it is played mainly by communities originally from Central Asia.