AFGHANISTAN-LIFESTYLE-BUZKASHI

This photograph taken on March 8, 2024 shows Afghan rider Sarwar Pahlawan (3R) of the Yama Petroleum team preparing to compete against Baghlan at the Buzkashi league tournament final in Mazar-i-Sharif. Played for centuries in Afghanistan's northern steppes, the national sport at the heart of Afghan identity has evolved from a rough, rural pastime to a professionalised phenomenon flush with cash. Traditionally, buzkashi is played with the headless body of a goat. More often a 30-kilogramme (66-pound) leather sack stands in for the carcass that riders try to pull from a fray of horses and drop in a "circle of justice" traced on the ground after doing a lap of the arena at full gallop with competitors in hot pursuit. (Photo by Atif ARYAN / AFP) (Photo by ATIF ARYAN/AFP via Getty Images)