The U.S. Army have transformed Kabul’s former Olympic Stadium with the installation of a GreenFields’ artificial turf pitch. The refurbished stadium in the capital city of Afghanistan symbolizes progress as NATO forces increasingly withdraw from this country and, in particular, will also help to encourage women’s football in Afghanistan.

Football helps to promote peace

The former Olympic Stadium in Kabul had a notorious past as the site of Taliban executions and torture. To help wipe away the dreadful legacy and promote peace in the area, the U.S. Army decided to transform the stadium by installing a brand-new artificial turf pitch. It is hoped that the pitch will be certified by FIFA very shortly, allowing the 25,000 seat stadium to host international matches from 2012 onwards.

Encouraging women’s football

Under the Taliban regime, women’s sports were forbidden. The newly refurbished stadium with its artificial turf pitch will become the training ground for Afghanistan’s women’s national football team and will also be used by many local clubs, maximising the usage of the pitch all year round.

GreenFields reputation secures the contract

With many companies to choose from the U.S. Army had to be confident that whoever was chosen could deliver what it promised. GreenFields had already installed an artificial turf pitch in Kabul on behalf of FIFA and, having visited that pitch, the Army were clear there was no other real competition.

Afghan National Olympic Committee president and a former military goalkeeper Lieutenant General Mohammad Zaher Aghbar said; “The place that once was used to execute people during the Taliban, and then football played on their blood, is now turned into a peaceful place. Of all the international projects implemented in Afghanistan, this is one of the most popular. It enjoys the support of all Afghans. Sport helps societies get together and it will strengthen our national solidarity.”