Soccer and Reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan

Reconstruction of Afghanistan and Iraq has proven far harder than the invasions of those two countries. In Afghanistan, a newly released report from a British think tank claims that the Taliban can attack US and coalition forces in over half of the country. In Iraq, the cost of occupation may soon hit $1 trillion dollars, yet the country lacks security in many places.

One important aspect of the US military’s reconstruction work has been an attempt to win over Afghan and Iraqi “hearts and minds.” This work has seen the American military (along with private contractors and the State Department) to use soccer, a popular sport in both countries, to gain support from locals. In doing so, they have run into many obstacles, several of which are emblematic of the larger difficulties the US military has faced in attempting to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan.

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Sandoval, from Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, juggles a soccer ball before giving it away to a boy in the Maghdad district of Kirkuk, Iraq, Sept. 30, 2006. (Photo: TheDonovan.com / U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Samuel Bendet)

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