LONDON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday paid a pre-Christmas visit to British troops stationed in Afghanistan, announcing that their Afghan mission accomplished.

Cameron had breakfast with Afghan National Army soldiers in Camp Bastion, a military base located outside Lashkar Gah, the capital of southern Afghan province Helmand.

He was quoted by BBC as saying that the British troops could "come home with their head held high".

The prime minister, who was accompanied by former England player Michael Owen during the trip, also announced a new partnership between British Football Association, Premier League and their Afghan counterparts to support the growth and development of Afghan football.

The new partnership will support all levels of Afghan football, from grassroots, through the Afghan Premier League and up to the Afghan national team, said a statement jointly issued by 10 Downing Street and the Ministry of Defense.

The partnership aims to build Afghan capacity in football administration, training and education for the national and grassroots game, the statement said.

"We often think of sport as just about a competition where you are either a winner or a loser but it also has an amazing power to bring people together and unite communities for the benefit of all involved," said Cameron.

Currently, Britain has around 5,200 British troops based in Afghanistan, down from 9,000 at the start of the year. There have been 446 British deaths since operations began in 2001.

This probably is the last Christmas trip for Cameron as the country plans to withdraw troops in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.