Arman FC officially completed the signing of its squad for the sixth season of the Afghanistan Champions League (ACL) on Saturday, with domestic and international players putting pen to paper during a contract-signing ceremony just hours before the club’s opening match against Ariana Khost.

The ceremony marked an important moment for Arman FC as the club embarked on its second ACL campaign, with the squad featuring a strong mix of Afghan talent and players with international backgrounds.

This season, Arman FC has assembled a particularly strong international line-up, with five foreign players, alongside six Canadian-Afghan players and one American-Afghan player.

The five international players are Macdonald Niba (Canada/Cameroon), Nouh Kamal Ahmed (USA/Sudan), Oumar Sylla (USA/Guinea), Malcolm-Isaiah Shaw (Canada/Trinidad) and Damola Iseoluwa Akanni (Canada/Nigeria).

The club’s Canadian-Afghan contingent includes Noah Ali Rustami, Tanin Azizi, Soliman Aria, Hafizullah Mahjor, Fardin Azizi and Adam Ali Rustami, while Siamak Karim represents the USA/Afghanistan combination.

The squad is completed by a strong group of Afghan players, giving Arman FC a blend of local knowledge, emerging talent and experience from football environments outside Afghanistan.

Ahead of the opening match, Macdonald Niba spoke about his experience of joining the tournament and spending time in Afghanistan.

Asked about his time in the country, he said he had been enjoying the experience.
“Everything has been great,” he said.
And there was one part of the experience that had made a particularly strong impression.
Asked what he thought of Afghan food, Mcdonald had a clear favourite.
“The food is so good, man. Kabuli Palaw is my favourite.”

The enthusiasm from the international players reflects the broader character of this year’s Arman FC squad, which brings together players with connections to Afghanistan, Canada, the United States, Cameroon, Sudan, Guinea, Trinidad and Tobago and Nigeria.

Arman FC’s first match of Season 6 came against Ariana Khost in the fifth match of the competition.
Arman made the perfect start when Macdonald opened the scoring, putting his side ahead. Ariana Khost, however, responded before half-time to leave the teams level at 1–1 at the break.

The second half belonged to Ariana Khost, who scored twice more to complete a 3–1 victory.
Ariana Khost’s goals came from Jawad Alkozay, Arash Ahmadi and Habibullah Hotak.
Despite the disappointing result, the match provided Arman FC with its first competitive test of the new campaign and an opportunity for its new-look squad to begin building chemistry on the pitch.

With the formalities of the contract-signing ceremony now complete, the focus turns to the remainder of the Champions League campaign.

For Arman FC, Season 6 is about more than a second appearance in the competition. It is an opportunity to build on last season’s experience, showcase Afghan talent and demonstrate what can be achieved by bringing together players from across different footballing backgrounds.