Kabul, Dec 28 (IANS): The president of the Afghan football federation and four other board members have been banned from leaving the country amid an investigation into their alleged involvement in sexual abuse against several players of the women's national team, an official said on Friday.

The Attorney General had already temporarily suspended Keramuddin Karim and other football federation board members on December 9, to prevent any meddling in the investigation, reports Efe.

The decision to hand Karim and four other board members a travel ban was imposed "after some progress was made into the investigation into the allegations against the football authorities," Jamshid Rasooly, a spokesperson for the Afghanistan Attorney General's Office, said without providing further details of the investigation.

International press had revealed the sexual abuse allegations in Nov., and although the local football federation rejected the accusation as unfounded, it created a committee to look into the incident.

Soccer, along with cricket, is among the most popular sports in Afghanistan and has spread even more over the past 17 years after the Taliban government had been ousted by the United States.