Afghanistan’s National Olympic Committee’s acting president Nazar Mohammad Motmaeenon on Wednesday called on athletes who fled the country after the Islamic Emirate takeover to return home.

Motmaeen made the comments during a ceremony in Kabul honouring Afghan athletes who won medals for Afghanistan over the last twenty years and earned global recognition for their country, Reuters reported.

Around 200 athletes were honoured by the Afghan National Olympic Committee and the Department of Sports for representing Afghanistan in various sports.

The players who have gone to foreign countries, they should return and they should be here together with us, Motmaeen said, adding that those who craved recognition and a better life in other countries would never have their wish fulfilled.