Afghanistan men's national basketball team

The Afghanistan national basketball team is the basketball side that represents Afghanistan in international competitions.[2][3][4][5] The gold medal at the 2010 South Asian Games was the first ever gold medal of any Afghan sports team in the history of the country.[6]

Afghanistan
FIBA rankingNR (1 March 2022)[1]
Joined FIBA1968
FIBA zoneFIBA Asia
National federationNational Basketball Association of Afghanistan (NBAA)
CoachAbdul Tawab Nikjo
Olympic Games
AppearancesNone
FIBA World Cup
AppearancesNone
FIBA Asia Cup
AppearancesNone
South Asian Games
Appearances1
Medals Gold: 2010

History

Basketball was first played in Afghanistan in 1936. In 1966, the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee (ANOC) founded the first national basketball team after receiving challenges from India and Pakistan. Tom Gouttierre, an American Peace Corps volunteer and coach of the team at Habibia High School, became the first coach. Using detailed, confidential instructions from John Wooden, the Afghan team became the only other to run the famous UCLA zone press.[7]

Although the international games were canceled, in 1969 Gouttierre returned on a Fulbright Fellowship and again became the Habibia coach, and in 1970 Bill Bradley of the New York Knicks tutored the team while visiting the country. That year China challenged the ANOC. Because of the lack of preparation time, Gouttierre decided that current and former Habibia players were the best choice for a second Afghan national team. Using the zone press, it defeated a much larger Chinese team in Parwan Province in the Afghan team's first international victory.[7]

Competitive record

World championships

yet to qualify

FIBA Asia Cup

Year Position Pld W L
1960Not a FIBA member
1963
1965
1967
1969Did not enter
1971
1973
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013Did not qualify
2015Did not enter
2017
2022
Total0/30000

Asian Games

  • 1970-2002 : Did not qualify
  • 2006 : 13th
  • 2010 : 13th
  • 2014 : Did not qualify
  • 2018 : To be determined

South Asian Games

  • 1995-2004 : Did not participate
  • 2010 : 1st
  • 2018 : To be determined

Honours

Head coach position

  • Mamo Rafiq – 2007-now

See also

Videos

References

  1. "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  2. "FIBA National Federations – Afghanistan". Fiba.com. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  3. "Keeping Afghan Men's basketball Alive is a Scramble". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  4. "Afghan national team making basketball inroads". Usatoday.Com. 12 November 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  5. "Afghan Men's Basketball Team Denied Chance at Olympics". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  6. "Afghan Sports Federation – 2010 South Asian Games in Dhaka, Bangladesh; BREAKING NEWS: Afghanistan National Basketball Team Wins Gold". AfghanSportsFederation.org. Archived from the original on 8 August 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  7. Ballard, Chris (22 July 2013). "The Wizard of Kabul". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
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