adminKABUL. — Being signed by a premiership club was a dream come true for 19-year-old striker Emal Mangal, even if top-level football in Afghanistan means being paid US$9 a day and living in the same house as 143 other players.
Mangal is a key member of De Abasin Sape, one of eight teams in the highly-competitive second season of the Afghan Premier League (APL) in Kabul.
Matches are played over seven weeks in a new stadium, and players from regional teams across the country are provided with free accommodation and food at a sprawling mansion in the suburbs.
Such communal living is a far cry from the lifestyle of professional footballers in Europe, where 24-year-old Gareth Bale from Wales last week signed with Real Madrid for a pay packet reported to be worth more than US$60 000 a day. — AFP.
Online Reporter