Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

is the most popular sport in

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

, a country that gained independence in 1991. The national association takes part in all competitions organised by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

and the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...

History of football in Uzbekistan

Soviet Period

Football in Uzbekistan started to develop in the 1920s. In 1926, the first championship of the

Uzbek SSR Uzbekistan (, ) is the common English name for the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR; uz, Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Республикаси, Oʻzbekiston Sovet Sotsialistik Respublikasi, in Russian: Уз� ...

(i.e.

Uzbek League Uzbekistan Super League ( uz, O'zbekiston Superligasi), also called Coca-Cola Uzbekistan Super League due to sponsorship reasons ( uz, Coca-Cola O'zbekiston Superligasi / Coca-Cola Ўзбекистон Суперлигаси), is the top division ...

) was held. Sbornaya Tashkenta and

Sokol Tashkent The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a so ...

were the most successful clubs in the competition. However the most successful club was

FC Pakhtakor (The cotton grower) uz, Sherlar(The Lions) uz, Xalq jamoasi(People's team) , founded = , ground = Pakhtakor Central Stadium , capacity = 35,000 , owner = , chairman = Bobur Shodiev , chrtitle = President , manager ...

, the only football club from

that played in the USSR Top League with 22 seasons. The

Uzbekistan Football Federation The Uzbekistan Football Association ( uz, Oʻzbekiston Futbol Federatsiyasi) is the governing body of football in Uzbekistan, controlling the Uzbekistan national team. History Uzbekistan Football Federation was founded in 1946, while Uzbekistan ...

was founded in 1946.

Berador Abduraimov Berador Khasanovich Abduraimov (russian: Берадор Хасанович Абдураимов) (born May 14, 1943) is a Soviet former football player, who played for Pakhtakor for most of his football career as a striker. He is regarded as on ...

is the most famous Uzbekistani footballer during the Soviet period. He played 358 matches for

, and was top goalscorer of the

Soviet Top League The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League (russian: Чемпионат СССР по футболу: Высшая лига), served as the top division of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991. The professional top level ...

in 1968 and also represented the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Between 1961 and 1992, several

i footballers had been members of the

USSR national football team The Soviet Union national football team ( rus, сбо́рная СССР по футбо́лу, r=sbórnaya SSSR po futbólu) was the national football team of the former Soviet Union. After the breakup of the Union the team was transformed in ...

Since independence

In 1994,

was reestablished and became a member of

and

. In the same year, the

Uzbekistan national football team The Uzbekistan national football team ( uz, Ozbekiston milliy futbol terma jamoasi, italic=yes / ) represents Uzbekistan in international football and is controlled by the Uzbekistan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uzbe ...

won the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

, at a time when the country was just finding its feet after gaining independence. But in 2003, the national association enjoyed more success: for the first time, the country's U-20 team qualified for the

FIFA World Youth Championship The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 wh ...

in 2003, which was hosted by the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. Uzbekistan U-19 reached the semi-finals of AFC U-19 Championships twice in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and once qualified to the final in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

but defeated by UAE U-19. After the achievement in 2003, Uzbekistan U-20 has participated in

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...

three more times so far. In 2009 mundial the team finished its appearance in group stage. In 2013 World Cup in Turkey, U-20 team made play-off and in Round of 16 won Greece U-20 with 3:1, but lost in quarterfinal to France U-20 0:4. The team made an appearance in

2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the twentieth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. The competition took place for the first time in New Zealand, the third time on Oceanian soil after ...

and qualified to quarterfinal, and defeated by Senegal U-20 with 0-1. Uzbekistan U-16 won

AFC U-16 Championship The AFC U-17 Asian Cup, formerly known as the AFC U-16 Championship and AFC U-17 Championship, is a football competition, organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) held once every two years for Asian under-17 teams that also serves as a q ...

in 2012 and it was the second final which the team qualified. In 2010 AFC U-16 Championship U-16 lost to North Korea U-16 in the final match. Uzbekistan U-16 has qualified to

FIFA U-17 World Cup The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fédération ...

twice in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

. In the debut year in the tournament the team finished its appearance in quarterfinal, defeated by Uruguay U-17. Uzbekistan U-16 was stopped by Honduras U-17 in round of 16 in

2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the fifteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The tournament was held in the United Arab Emirates between 17 October and 8 November. Nigeria won the tournament after defeating Mexico 3–0 in the final, cla ...

. In 2018 Uzbekistan U-23 became the champions in

AFC U-23 Championship The AFC U-23 Asian Cup, previously the AFC U-22 Championship (in 2013) and AFC U-23 Championship (between 2016 and 2020), is a biennial international football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-23 ...

hosted by

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The team defeated Vietnem U-23 in the final match with 2-1. The senior team's best achievement at the Asian Cup was a fourth-place finish at the

2011 AFC Asian Cup The 2011 AFC Asian Cup was the 15th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar from 7 to 29 January 2011. It was the fifte ...

. The most successful football clubs in

are

FC Bunyodkor Football Club Bunyodkor ( uz, Bunyodkor futbol klubi) is an Uzbekistan, Uzbek professional association football, football club based in Tashkent that competes in the Uzbekistan Super League. Bunyodkor, a relatively unknown club at the time, made ...

and

FC Nasaf Football Club Nasaf Qarshi ( uz, Futbol Klubi Nasaf Qarshi) is a professional football club based in Qarshi (Qashqadaryo Region), Uzbekistan. Founded in 1986, the club competes in the Uzbekistan Super League. History Name changes * 1985–1991: ...

. In 2007 Pakhtakor won 2007 CIS Cup by defeating

FK Ventspils FK Ventspils is a Latvian football club, based at Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadions in Ventspils city and is one of the most popular football clubs in the country. The club played in the Latvian Virsliga since 1997. It was abolished in 2020, but h ...

, from Latvia, with 9-8 on penalties. The next season of CIS Cup Pakhtakor reached the final of the competition for the back-to-back second time but lost to Khazar Lenkoran. The team is also perennial competitor in the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

, having reached the semi-finals of the competition twice in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. Pakhtakor currently holds record in number of consecutive participation in AFC Champions League, participating from 2002 to 2013

won

AFC Cup The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying s ...

in 2011, defeating

Kuwait SC Kuwait Sporting Club ( ar, نادي الكويت الرياضي) is a Kuwaiti professional association football, football club based in Kuwait City. The football team has won Kuwaiti Premier League 17 times. Kuwait SC also has over 50 trophies ...

with 2-1 in the final of the tournament and became Uzbekistan's first club to win AFC Cup.

's best achievement is the semi-finals of

, a debut year of the team in the competition, and the second time in

Ravshan Irmatov Ravshan Sayfiddinovich Irmatov ( uz, Ravshan Sayfiddinovich Ermatov, Равшан Сайфиддинович Эрматов; born August 9, 1977) is an Uzbek professional football referee. He officiated in the Uzbek League from 2000-2019 and in ...

was named The Best Referee in Asia in four consecutive years (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2014). He was Best Referee of The Year in the 2015

Globe Soccer Awards The Globe Soccer Awards aka Dubai d'Or are football awards organised by the European Club Association (ECA) in conjunction with the European Association of Player's Agents (EFAA) and delivered by the organisation Globe Soccer. The award ceremony ...

. Notable Uzbekistani footballers since independence from the

include

Server Djeparov Server Reshatovich Djeparov ( Uzbek: ''Server Jeparov'', Uzbek Cyrillic: Сервер Жепаров, crh, Server Reşat oğlu Ceparov; born 3 October 1982), is an Uzbek former professional football playmaker who is the head coach of Uzbekist ...

(2008 Asian Footballer of the year),

Igor Shkvyrin Igor Shkvyrin (russian: Игорь Анатольевич Шквырин, ; born 29 April 1963 in Tashkent) is a retired Uzbekistani professional footballer who played for several clubs in Europe and Asia and the Uzbekistan national football tea ...

(top goal scorer of the

1994 Asian Games The 1994 Asian Games ( ja, 1994年アジア競技大会, ''Senkyūhyakukyūjūyon-nen Ajia kyōgi taikai''), also known as the XII Asiad and the 12th Asian Games ( ja, 第12回アジア競技大会, Daijūni-kai Ajia kyōgi taikai), were held from ...

Mirjalol Qosimov Mirjalol Kushakovich Qosimov ( uz, Mirjalol Qoʻshoqovich Qosimov, russian: Мирджалол Кушакович Касымов; in English also: Mirdjalal Kasimov or Kasymov) (born 17 September 1970) is a former head coach of the Uzbekistan na ...

and

Maksim Shatskikh Maksim Aleksandrovich Shatskikh (russian: Максим Александрович Шацких; born 30 August 1978) is an Uzbek professional football coach of Pakhtakor Tashkent and a former player. He is widely regarded as one of the best ...

. In 2014, Uzbekistan was one of the eight nations to take part in the first

Unity World Cup The Unity World Cup is an international football competition contested by Christian national men's teams. Its name, ''unity'', shows its will to ''unite'' the different Christians during a sports event. It is organized with the help of the John Pa ...

References

{{Football in Asia

History of football in Uzbekistan

Soviet Period

Since independence

See also

References