How to watch Buzkashi on your visit to Afghanistan?

One of the most common questions we get asked about our “Road to Oxiana” journey and from travellers on their way to Mazar-E-Sharif in Afghanistan’s north is how to watch the game of Buzkashi as part of their tour.

The game is the national sport of Afghanistan and is an often violent cross between horseback polo and rugby, but has captured the imagination of travellers for generations. The writer Whitney Azoy believes it’s because Buzkashi is a microcosm of Afghan society and of the constant struggle of Afghan’s to succeed.

Under the first Taliban regime between 1996 and 2001, the group banned the game which is traditionally played with a dead goat’s carcass by Uzbeks, Turkmen, Hazara and Tajiks. The Taliban 2.0 has been a little less restrictive over the game although the goat’s carcass has been replaced with a sewn leather sack weighing 30kg.

Famously Buzkashi is often played on the frozen ice of the Band-E-Amir lakes in Bamyan, although these days you are far more likely to catch a formal game taking part in the winter as part of an organised and televised contest.

There are now two formal leagues in the country, the main of which has 13 teams since 2020 much of which is televised on Afghanistan’s national broadcaster. The league is sponsored by Afghan oil tycoon Saeed Karim, who splits his time between Mazar-i-Sharif, Dubai and Istanbul, who has also financed an all star team bearing the name of his company “Yama Petroleum.”

The best players can now earn $10,000 per year, with winning teammates sharing $35,000, three camels and a car offered by sponsors after clinching the title.

Our guests and travellers were able to witness the final of the Northern League as VIP guests on their tour of Northern Afghanistan this April watching the all-star ‘Yama Petrol’ team defeat the underdogs from Samangan.