In all 23 male and female coaches from across Afghanistan took part in an intensive training programme in grassroots football development and community coaching.
The course followed on from the UK-Afghan football partnership launched by prime minister David Cameron and FA ambassador Michael Owen last December.
Young coaches pose with FA staff
Les Howie, director of grassroots development at The FA, said: “Football is a great way to bring people together. We have worked with a group of coaches who have a shared passion for football and we came together to share and develop knowledge that we hope will support the development of grassroots football in Afghanistan.
"Our coaching colleagues from Afghanistan have been excellent ambassadors for their country and we hope they take the new skills developed and use them to good effect in their own communities. We look forward to working with our colleagues at the AFF and British Embassy in Kabul to build on this excellent start to our partnership."
Participant Hajar Abulfazil, said: “We learned lots of new things from our trainers, which we can use effectively with our players back home. We learned lots of instructive lessons and everything was taught theoretically and practically in detail.
"This added a lot to what we already knew about grassroots football. We are sure that what we learned from our instructors will help bring a considerable positive change in the structure of grassroots football in Afghanistan.”
Ahmad Fahim Ahmadi added: "The way our coaches taught us was very effective. This course was quite different from other courses we have taken in the past. We learned about different aspects and dimensions of football and the trainers were very friendly. They created an environment in which we could very easily learn new things.”
The course also took in elements of football development
Ali Aghazada, general secretary of the Afghan Football Federation, said: "We would like to thank The FA and the British Embassy in Kabul for their continued cooperation and support of the Afghanistan Football Federation.
"Knowing that grassroots plays a major role in developing football activities among children, it can also encourage and give them hope for a better future. We hope that the participants of the course can get the necessary experience and share it with the next generation of young Afghans."
