The F.A. had taken the first steps towards regenerating football in the war-torn country by organising a match in Kabul's Olympic Stadium aptly named "The Game of Unity". Since that historic occasion, F.A. officials have been in regular contact with the Afghanistan Football Federation, offering advice as they attempt to rebuild football in their country and providing basic materials to help them do so.

Pat McFadden arrived in Kabul to find a local Cup Final match already scheduled and a team happy to wear an England strip for the occasion, donated by The Football Association. He tells the story of his experience in Afghanistan:

"Before setting out for two weeks work in Kabul, I contacted The F.A. and the Scottish FA to see if they would be interested in supporting a match between two Afghan teams. Both organizations gave the idea their enthusiastic support and readily agreed to supply kit to the two teams concerned. In addition, The F.A. was able to provide contacts and advice based on the work they were already doing to promote football in Afghanistan and to help the Afghan Football Federation take its proper place as a member of FIFA."

The setting for the match could not have been further removed from the San Siro, the Nou Camp or any of the gilded citadels of Europe's football elite. This was Kabul's Olympic stadium, scene in the past of public torture and execution. During the Taliban era, crowds would be herded there after Friday prayers to watch punishment being meted out to those who opposed the regime or simply offended its incredibly strict laws.

One look outside the stadium shows the bitter legacy of years of fighting. The area is full of shattered buildings, mines roof and walls. Whole streets are little more than piles of rubble. Yet amidst the wreckage, the city is pulling itself together and local people are trying to begin again.

With the Taliban gone, the stadium is now a peaceful place, returned to its proper use. Local youths kick the ball around on its rutted grass surface as Afghanistan tries to come to terms with something approaching normal life. The match nominated by the Afghan Football Federation was between two popular local teams - the Kabul Team against the Young Generation Team.

The Kabul Team chose England's white shirts and the Young Generation Team picked Scotland's away shirts. A crowd of several thousand enthusiastic Kabulis gathered in the stadium. Most sat under the giant photograph of Ahmed Shah Masood, the Northern Alliance leader who was assassinated just before September 11th which dominates one side of the pitch.

"Scotland" were out early and eager, warming up before the game. "England" were late. They did not emerge until 15 minutes after the game was due to start. They had been to a wedding it was explained. "This is Afghanistan" one local said to me, completely unconcerned about when the game would start.

As the teams lined up I was introduced to the star of the England Team - Najeeb. Appropriately, he wore number 10.

The game began tentatively, the crowd more polite than enthusiastic. As time wore on and the England team worked off their wedding meal, they began to take control. After 20 minutes England took a deserved lead through that man Najeeb.

Just after the goal a player went down injured and a small child in a salwar kameez - the long shirt favoured by local men - ran onto the pitch with water for the player. As the boy fell over, the crowd laughed. The atmosphere, it was clear, was much more relaxed than would have been possible in the past.

Scotland rallied towards the end of the half and struck the post shortly before the interval but when the half time whistle came the score remained at 1-0.

Half time too was a relaxed affair. The players sat on the pitch drinking water in the fading sunlight. Many of the crowd came down from the terraces and strolled around the pitch. In one corner, near the Scotland bench, men spread out shawls on the pitch and prayed.

After the interval England quickly reasserted their control of the game, and only a superb save by the Scotland 'keeper kept the Young Generation Team in the game. England missed several chances to increase their lead before a great chance fell to Scotland midway through the second half.

Through a mixture of Dari and sign language the man next to me explained it had fallen to the player's weaker right foot - the universal language of football once again.

Scotland pressed hard in the remaining 20 minutes or so, shaving the post but never really looking like scoring.

In the end, the match finished 1-0 to "England". But far more important than the score was the warmth and human spirit on display in a country that has seen far more than its share of war, death and division. As the players embraced in the sunset at the final whistle, you could dare to hope for Afghanistan's future again.

Of course the country has a long way to go. The problems it faces from desperate poverty, to shattered houses and fields littered with mines would daunt any country. But with the energy of the Afghan people and the help of people, governments and other organizations in the West, Afghanistan can recover.

Sport has its part to play in this effort. Football brings people together and The F.A. is doing a great job in helping to establish the game in Afghanistan, not just through its help with this match but through its ongoing support for the Afghan Football Federation.

It is worth the effort and hopefully in the not too distant future, Afghanistan can take its place in sport alongside the other countries of the world.

Pat McFadden