Afghan news agency Ariana made an announcement that one of the victims who fell from the U.S. plane at the Kabul airport on Monday was 19-year-old Afghani footballer Zaki Anwari.
Zaki Anwari, a 19 year old Afghan who played in the national junior football team died as he fell from a US military plane, according to this post from the Afghan Sports Society. A young man with much promise and talent. What a tragic way to die. #Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/D1a3JiRXJW
— Rajini Vaidyanathan (@BBCRajiniV) August 19, 2021
Anwari played for the Afghanistan youth national team. He was one of many people attempting to flee the country after the Taliban captured the capital city following the United States' military withdrawl.
Several people clung to the side of the United States Air Force Boeing C-17 as it took off to leave the country for Qatar.
Scenes of panic and chaos played out at the airport in Kabul as crowds of people desperate to escape Afghanistan rushed onto the tarmac.
Some clung to the sides of planes, even as one taxied down the runway, in a bid to flee the Taliban.https://t.co/pAgoGW7tos pic.twitter.com/4YGQd2iEzk— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 16, 2021
Afghanistan’s General Directorate for Sport confirmed that Anwari was one of the victims. I won’t be linking the video of the plane’s actual takeoff as it is highly disturbing. If you truly wish to watch, I’m sure the video is somewhere on Reddit or Twitter.
Sport is truly an afterthought at horrific and saddening times like this. We can only hope for the health and well-being for all individuals affected by recent events.
Soccer in Afghanistan will likely undergo a large change, especially with the women’s national team. Khalida Popal, the former captain of Afghanistan’s women’s team, urged all the players on the team to burn their jerseys and erase any social media posts of them playing.
Afghanistan's former women's soccer captain Khalida Popal told @Reuters she has urged players to delete their social media accounts, erase public identities and burn their kits for safety's sake after the Taliban seized control of the country https://t.co/VqlioYGGt0 pic.twitter.com/MZ0Ziyzna8
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 19, 2021
