Afghanistan set for Asian Games return

Afghanistan are set to return to soccer competition at the Asian Games in South Korea later this month after a 48-year absence.

The war-torn country, a founding member of the Asian Football Congress (AFC), was formally re-integrated into the AFC last month for the first time since 1954, paving the way for their participation in the Asian Games.

Afghanistan have taken the slot vacated by Mongolia, and will play in group E along with Iran, Qatar and Lebanon, the Kuala Lumpur-based AFC said in a statement on Tuesday.

Their last official matches were in the qualifying competition for the 1984 Olympic Games.

"We have been in the football wilderness for 20 years and we are eager to make a quick impact," Afghanistan's Football Federation president Abdul Alim Kohistani told Football Asia magazine.

The Afghan team, whose first game in the Asian Games will be against Iran on September 28, will include the talented Sayed Tahir, who has been labelled 'Afghanistan's David Beckham'.