Founded in 1933 and a FIFA affiliate since 1948, the Afghanistan Football Federation was one of the founder members of the Asian Football Confederation in 1954. The national team played its first match in 1941 and was last seen on the international stage in 1984 during the qualifying competition for the Asian Cup. The Russian invasion and later the Taliban regime made it impossible to keep football going at domestic and international level. Many players continued their careers in other countries. Only after the fall of the Taliban in 2002 could the football-mad nation contemplate a bright future once again. The national team made a comeback at interntional level in September 2002, taking part in the Asian Games football tournament in Busan. Although the teams results were disappointing, the players joy at returning to the football fold was very clear to see. And just a few months later at the SAFF Cup in Bangladesh, a significant improvement in standards was already discernible.