October 1 – The president of the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF), Mohammad Yousef Kargar (pictured), has been accused of demanding a $10,000 bribe to secure a place for a player on the national team.
In leaked recordings broadcast by Afghanistan International TV, Kargar is heard negotiating with the brother of Nesar Ahmad Mohmand, a midfielder plying his trade in Australia’s second tier.
“Once it arrives on Saturday, I will inform the coach, and then he can proceed with the arrangements,” says Kargar. In another clip he adds: “We will say that $10,000 was donated to the national team. However, the player will still be selected.”
Mohmand had been invited after impressing at a diaspora tournament in Melbourne, but the tapes suggest that cash was the deciding factor. At one point, Kargar even appears to accept a cut-rate deal: “OK, no problem. I had said $10,000, you said $5,000. Add another $1,500 on top, because we need it for the visa. If we don’t have the money, how can we go to Thailand?”
Kargar, who has led the AFF since 2019, admits the voice on the tapes is his but insists the conversations have been twisted. Appearing on Ariana TV, he claimed he was in fact negotiating a sponsorship deal.
“He said he wanted to bring foreign sponsors for the upcoming match against Myanmar in March. He then offered $10,000… I asked him: ‘Then why are you offering $10,000?’ He replied: ‘Because I want my brother to be included in the national team.’”
Kargar says he made it clear that squad selection rests with the head coach, not the federation. Yet inconsistencies remain. In the recordings, he pushes for the money to be wired via an informal exchange rather than the AFF’s account, raising fresh doubts about transparency. Sources close to the federation also point to unpaid salaries and earlier allegations of match-fixing in 2008.
Despite the storm, FIFA has allowed Kargar’s mandate to be extended until January 2026.
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