The Afghan Sports Journalists Federation (ASJF) officially acknowledges and supports the growing movement among Afghan sports journalists aimed at reviving the federation and restoring its mission of professional unity, representation, and development.
Since the political changes in August 2021, the ASJF’s former leadership left the country and, for the past three years, has remained out of contact with sports journalists working inside Afghanistan. This absence of engagement has created a leadership vacuum and significantly weakened the federation’s ability to serve its members and represent Afghan sports journalists at the national and international level.
In response to this situation, more than 100 active sports journalists from across Afghanistan have joined forces with a shared vision: to reorganize the ASJF, hold democratic internal elections, and form a new leadership body through a transparent and inclusive process.
Veteran sports media professionals and ASJF members, Mr. Samiullah Serat and Mr. Sayed Omar Sahar, emphasize that the previous leadership’s legal mandate officially expired in late 2024. Since then, no physical or virtual meetings have been convened to renew leadership or consult with members inside the country. They warn that continued inaction would further erode the federation’s legitimacy and hinder cooperation with international organizations.
Mr. Serat and Mr. Sahar also criticized the former leadership for monopolizing the federation’s name and benefits for over a decade—limiting access to training, travel, and representation at key events to a small inner circle, while sidelining the broader sports journalism community.
The ASJF stresses that this new initiative reflects a firm commitment by journalists within Afghanistan to reclaim ownership of their federation, protect their rights, and ensure that no individual or group misuses the ASJF’s name or platform from abroad.
The legal term of the previous ASJF leadership ended approximately seven months ago. It is now time to move forward with unity, transparency, and collective responsibility to restore the federation as a credible, functioning institution.
Issued by:
Afghanistan’s Sports Journalists Federation (ASJF)
Kabul, Afghanistan
19 May 2025
