An international team including soldiers from Scottish regiments 7 SCOTS The Royal Regiment and 3 SCOTS The Black Watch, who are in Afghanistan to train the Afghan National Army, took on new recruits in a friendly match thanks to the kind donation of strips from Scottish club Rangers and London club West Ham.

The donation of the Rangers strips follows a visit on 26 July by Development Secretary Douglas Alexander, who learned over lunch with the soldiers at Camp Souter that one side had no football strips.

Back in Britain Mr Alexander linked up with Rangers, who immediately arranged to send a team strip to Afghanistan. 

The Afghan National Army players wore the Rangers kit, with the international side in West Ham's strip, which had previously been donated by the London club.

The match took place on Wednesday 12 August at the Kabul Military Training Centre, where international mentors including British soldiers and Royal Marines help to train their Afghan Officer and Non-Commissioned Officer colleagues for 23 weeks of military and leadership skills, before they deploy throughout Afghanistan.

And the final score - a diplomatic 2-2 draw.

British Ambassador Mark Sedwill:

"Training and developing the Afghan National Army is a crucial part of the international community's work in Afghanistan, to which we are strongly committed. The skills that the soldiers are passing on to their Afghan colleagues are helping to expand Afghan government control and improve security to ensure a better life for the people of Afghanistan.

The excellent relationship between the British trainers and the Afghan recruits is readily evident during training, and when Afghan and intentional forces deploy together on the front-line."

Colour Sergeant Gary Buchanan, 36, from Arbroath in Scotland plays in mid-field. He has previously served in Iraq, but this is his first mentoring role.
 
Speaking before the match, he said:
 
"When we first came, I wasn't sure what to expect of the Afghans. My previous experience was working with the Iraqis. I've been here for five months now and it's been rewarding work. They're keen, enthusiastic and fit - fitness is obviusly a key part of soldiering. They're also a very good standard considering their Army was only established six years ago. I hope the same skill won't be applied on the field!
 
"Obviously this work is very different to the work the boys are doing down south in Helmand, but it's just as important. This is what is going to allow the Afghans to have control for themselves and what will get us as a coalition out of Afghanistan."

The team's Captain, Major David Jones, is also the Commanding Officer of the ANA's Gandamac Company at the Officer Cadet School in Kabul. There are 6 companies - 4 are British-led and two are French led. There are 30 cadets in his company, ranging from 18 to 28 years old.
 
Speaking at half time he said:
 
"The Afghans that I'm training are very fit young men - they do alot of sport and weight training. All of us, particularly the Afghans, have been looking forward to the game for a while. It's the first full match we've played against one another and as you can see it's very competitive.

The quality of the cadets on and off the pitch is very good. They're very keen to serve their country and their very keen to help in the fight against the insurgents. We're very grateful to both Glasgow Rangers and West Ham United for the donation of the kit. Being a Glasgow rangers fan myself, it's even better!"

Notes for Editors

British Embassy Afghanistan

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