Mohammad Zaki Anwari was headed for a bright future representing Afghanistan on the soccer field. He died trying to escape the Taliban.
A promising young soccer player was among the Afghans who died trying to escape this week. Mohammad Zaki Anwari,19, was heading for a bright future representing Afghanistan on the soccer field, but the Islamic fundamentalist group’s dramatic retaking of power drove him to Kabul’s international airport in the desperate hope of boarding an to keep his dreams alive. „We had a training session a day before the Taliban captured Kabul, he was a talented center back,“ said Rahil Abid, who’d played with Anwari on the Afghan national under-16s team since they were 12. „He was also a brilliant student and his dream was to be a world class footballer and he dreamed of making Afghanistan a big name on the world stage.“ Abid told CBS News that when Anwari heard the Taliban was at the gates of Kabul, he rushed to the airport with his friends. „The next day, I heard the news of his tragedy,“ Abid said.
