Kabul to host historic football match

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Preparations are underway for a historic football match, which will be played between a team of international troops and an Afghan XI at the Kabul Stadium on Friday. It is being called the game of unity on Friday the International Security Assistance Force or the ISAF team consists of a team of soldiers currently based in Afghanistan will take on an Afghan XI. And the fact that ISAF are taking this game really seriously can be gauged from the fact that they have drafted in former England coach Lawrie McMenemy and ex-Tottenham Hotspurs captain Gary Mabbutt to help them prepare. "This game is more significant than any other because it is not about the result or the performance, it is more the fact that the game is actually happening, taking place because this stadium was built for sport originally. But in England and all around the world it is only notorious for the wrong reason, which is executions, and now this game is a significant signal to everyone that normal life is back again," said McMenemy. It is going to be a high profile game. The English Football Association or the FA has provided kits to both sides and the English premier league trophy has been sent to Kabul. So the winning team can be made to feel as good as Manchester United. Some 30,000 fans including Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai are expected to be at the stadium in Friday. ISAF not only have to play the game but they also have to provide security for the event.