By Husbanullah Mutwakkil, IOL Correspondent

KABUL, June 9 (IslamOnline) - Two decades of tragic wars and conflicts did not change the Afghans' interest in football. Like any other people, they are keen on watching the world's most popular game, namely World Cup finals, in its 17th round, currently held in South Korea and Japan.

Satellite dishes are now erected on the mostly destroyed homes of the Afghan capital, Kabul. Even those who fled the war-torn country, living in Refugee Camps in the Pakistani City of Peshawar, are also watching the games, to continue till the end of June.

One main reason behind the Afghans' keenness on passing through their tragedies and sitting before the silver screen to watch the world's top teams compete to snatch the precious title, is due to former Taliban's strict decision to ban watching Television. That decision deprived the Afghans from watching last World Cup in France 1998.

One satellite dish seller in Kabul told IslamOnline Sunday, June 9, 2002, that satellite dish selling increased notably over the past couple of weeks. "Despite destitution and hardships faced by most Afghanis to have their basic needs, they are keen on buying such dishes to watch World Cup matches. Public Television seems not interested to air the matches though," the satellite dish seller added.

However, electricity is another obstacle before the Afghans, as it fails almost frequently. Many of Kabul suburbs suffer short circuits most of the time.