Bunk beds and dreams of glory: Life in Afghan Premier League

Being signed by a premiership club was a dream come true for 19-year-old striker Emal Mangal, even if top-level football in Afghanistan means being paid USD 9 a day and living in the same house as 143 other players.

Mangal is a key member of De Abasin Sape, one of eight teams in the highly-competitive second season of the Afghan Premier League (APL) in Kabul. Matches are played over seven weeks in a new stadium, and players from regional teams across the country are provided with free accommodation and food at a sprawling mansion in the suburbs.

Such communal living is a far cry from the lifestyle of professional footballers in Europe, where 24-year-old Gareth Bale from Wales last week signed with Real Madrid for a pay packet reported to be worth more than USD 60,000 a day.

‘We are here all together, eating and living and sleeping in the same place. It is great fun,’ said Mangal, a third-year medical student standing outside his dormitory after morning training.

‘Everyone is friends in the house, but when we get on the pitch, that finishes and we are big rivals,’ he added.

Between six and eight teammates share each bedroom, sleeping in bunk beds and surrounded by piles of football shirts, socks, suitcases, and mobile phones blasting out Indian pop music.

The league is split into eight teams covering the whole country to give all Afghans a side to support, and it hopes to promote better ethnic ties after decades of warfare and conflict.