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Posted: Feb 17, 2008
Soccer Equipment Delivered
To Smiling Afghan Children
OMAHA, NE. -- An Omaha
man called soccer a universal language,
and he has taken some locally donated
gear halfway across the world. View
video»
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Posted: Feb
3, 2008
Omahans help by donating
sports equipment to Afghan athletes
Omaha, NE - Omaha soccer coach Karl
Ostrand stood on an uneven dirt
field inside Afghanistan's Ghazi
Stadium in Kabul - the site of public
executions under the Taliban. Read
story on Omaha.com» |
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Posted: Feb 13, 2008
Delivering Freedom
Omaha (KFAB) - Karl Ostrand, with
Omaha's Gladiator Soccer Club, embarked
on a goodwill mission to Afghanistan
in the name of soccer. For trip update
- Listen
to interview » |
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Mountains surrounding
Kabul, Afghanistan |
Kabul homes
on the side of mountain |
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Ostrand and
Yasamin, member of the Afghanistan
Women’s National Team |
Ostrand and
Duaine Goodno, who helped coordinate
first Women's National Team, showing
article “Afghan Girls
Bend It Like Beckham”
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Kids playing
soccer in Kabul, Afghanistan |
“Roots
for Peace” field in Kabul,
Afghanistan |
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Kids playing
soccer in Kabul, Afghanistan |
Kids playing
soccer in Kabul, Afghanistan |
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Kids playing
soccer in Kabul, Afghanistan |
Kids playing
soccer in Kabul, Afghanistan |
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Delivering soccer
equipment to ISK school in Kabul,
Afghanistan |
Delivering soccer
equipment to Hamid Hekmat and Walied
Osman for the Bamyan region of Afghanistan. |
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Ostrand in front
of the Afghanistan
Football Federation offices |
Ostrand and
Karim Keramuddin, president of
the Afghanistan Football Federation |
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Ghazi Olympic
Stadium in Kabul, Afghanistan |
Ghazi Olympic
Stadium in Kabul, Afghanistan |
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Ghazi Olympic
Stadium in Kabul, Afghanistan –
U15 Boys National Team |
Ghazi Olympic
Stadium "Veiwing Box"
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Front of Ghazi
Olympic Stadium |
Afghanistan National
Team training fields |
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Posted: Dec
17, 2007
Soccer Club Collecting
Equipment for Women in Afghanistan
Omaha (KPTM) - The thrill of soccer
may just be catching on with women
in Afghanistan, but that's not stopping
a local soccer club from pitching
in. Read
news story and view video»
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Posted: Dec
18, 2007
Delivering Freedom
Omaha (KFAB) - Karl Ostrand is the
Director of Operations for Omaha's
Gladiator Soccer Club. His idea
to take gifts to poor children in
Afghanistan has ramifications far
beyond just dropping off some balls
and nets. Listen
to interview »
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Only six years ago it was illegal
to sing, dance, fly a kite or play soccer
in Afghanistan. Now, with the
fall of the Taliban, soccer has become
more than a game. It’s a symbol
of freedom and sign of hope for the future.
Gladiator Soccer Club is partnering with
Afghanistan
Youth Sports Exchange, a non-profit
group that uses soccer as a tool to promote
leadership among youth in Afghanistan.
Karl Ostrand, Director of Operations
for Gladiator Soccer Club, will be personally
delivering much needed soccer equipment
to orphanages, schools, and the Afghan
Women’s National Team this January
in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Donating soccer equipment like balls,
shoes, uniforms, nets, and coaching resources,
has been spearheaded by Gladiator’s
corporate office, but support has come
from many places. Individual teams and
players within Gladiator, along with Creighton
University’s women’s soccer
team, Soccer Internationale and Soccer
Zone (local retail soccer stores), the
Nebraska State Soccer Association, and
the National Soccer Coaches Association
of America (NSCAA) have all enthusiastically
joined the effort.
See
press release»
Support
for soccer in Afghanistan is so
important because the sport is still
controversial in this part of the
world. |
“Girls’ schools have
been targeted by those who disapprove
of girls and women taking their
rightful place alongside boys and
men in the public sphere,”
says the Afghanistan Youth Sports
Exchange. “Girls who play
soccer, therefore, are challenging
traditional gender roles with each
throw in and every goal scored.”
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