KABUL - MTN recently sponsored the Herat Football Peace & Friendship Tournament (HFFT), which took place in Herat province of Afghanistan starting on September 03, 2012. The tournament went on for 10 days and featured 30 football clubs who regularly play in this province.

There are 6700 football players in the city that compete annually at national and international football tournaments. MTN supports the HFFT financially in order to host and arrange a tournament between seven premier football clubs of Afghanistan and one football club from Iran, our neighbor country, through supporting referees who judge the matches and providing sports equipment and food and beverages. While the HFF was contributing guest housing, the stadium and supervisors/managers overseeing and implementing this project.

The "Isteqlal Football Team", were announced the winner of the tournament by beating Ittefaq 5-3 in an exciting finals match which saw both sides in heavy competition up to the last minutes.

MTN, as the official sponsor of FIFA 2010, takes pride in supporting sports specially football events and tournaments, which are directing all youths toward the positive lifestyles and keeps them away from drugs and other prohibited works. Sports are a sign of health and unity for all ethnicities and nationalities that motivate them towards building positive relations with others. MTN is fully dedicated to empowering youth for improvement of sport in Afghanistan.

Herat province is located at west of Afghanistan. The economy levels of the people are in the lowest stages and they can hardly afford provision of their basic needs whereas most of them, especially youth, are fond of sports and football tournaments. Herat city has been unstable and unsecure for the past few years. Youth have been particularly affected by the instability and continue to be vulnerable to the insurgency.

All sport teams have been left out of the government attention in the past so supporting this football tournament will improve their skills and will enable them to compete in the national/international football tournaments representative of their province/country. Also thousands of sports fans will come to the stadium to watch the matches.

As MTN brings the Herat Football Peace & Friendship Tournament to the people of Afghanistan for 2012, it will continue to happen on an annual basis. (PR)