| Football in Tajikistan | |
|---|---|
| Country | Tajikistan |
| Governing body | Tajikistan Football Federation |
| National team | men's national team |
| National competitions | |
| Club competitions | |
| International competitions | |
Football is the most popular sport inTajikistan, a country that gained independence in 1991.[1] Approximately one in five people in Tajikistan are considered association football fans.[2]
The national association regularly takes part in competitions organised byFIFA and theAsian Football Confederation at senior and youth level. However, the country has not yet enjoyed any real success. While funds are limited, costs for travel and accommodation for international matches are prohibitively high. It is therefore extremely difficult for the national teams to gain experience, apart from in official competitions.[3]
Football in Tajikistan started to develop in the 1920s and theTajikistan National Football Federation was established in 1936.In 1937 the first championship[4] of theTajik SSR (i.e. theTajik League) was held, which was composed of over 20 teams.Dynamo Stalinabad became the first champion, whileSpartak Stalinabad came second andDinamo Kirovabad came third. In the same year, Dynamo Stalinabad made its debut in theUSSR Cup, where it defeatedSpartak Tashkent 2–1, however lost toLokomotiv Baku 5–0.
In 1938 the firstTajik Cup competition was held, in which Dynamo Stalinabad defeatedSpartak Leninabad 4–0 in the final. In 1947 Dynamo, for the first time in the history of Tajik football, was represented in the national championship. Dynamo played in theCentral Asian zone group three times, along with Spartak Tashkent,ODL Tashkent,Lokomotiv Ashgabat, a team fromFrunze and a team fromAlma-Ata. As a result, Dynamo gained 25 points and was the winner of the tournament. In September, the winners of the six zonal tournaments left for Moscow to decide the club, that in 1948 would play in the first group of the USSR championship. Unfortunately, players of Tajikistan took only fifth place. Those who played in the first republic to the national championship were B. Boyko, G. Titov, N. Meshcheryakov, A. Sokolov, F. Rukavishnikov, K. Zakharov, M. Meekin, E. Kuzmin, V. Leichenko, K. Pogorelov, AP Babich, B. Fomichev, Yu Piskunyan, N. Emelianov.
The only football club from the Tajik SSR that played in theUSSR Top League wasSKA-Pamir Dushanbe, where they played three consecutive seasons from 1989 to 1991.
Between 1974 and 1992, several Tajik footballers were members of theUSSR national football team and theCIS national football team:
| Name | Position | Team | Caps(Goals) | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sergei Nikulin | Defender | USSR | 3(0) | 1974-1979 |
| Edgar Gess | Midfield | USSR | 1(0) | 1979 |
| Oleg Shirinbekov | Defender | USSR | 3(0) | 1988 |
| Oleksiy Cherednyk | Midfield | USSR | 2(0) | 1989 |
| Sergey Mandreko | Midfield | CIS | 4(0) | 1992 |
Following the civil war,Tajik League andTajik Cup resumed in 1992. In 1994,Tajikistan National Football Federation was reestablished.
Tajikistan national football team success came in 1993, when it came third inECO Cup, also performed well in the1998 Asian Games where reached the second round. However, the greatest performance was champions of2006 AFC Challenge Cup.[5] Performance in subsequent appearances in Challenge Cup were also satisfactory, runner-up of2008 AFC Challenge Cup and third place2010 AFC Challenge Cup.
At youth level,Tajikistan national under-17 football teamwon bronze atAFC U-17 Championship 2006 and the following year reached round-of-16 at2007 FIFA U-17 World Championship.
Since its foundation in 2005, Tajik football teams have won or at least reached the final inAFC President's Cup apart from 2007.
Tajikistan national football team qualified for theAFC Asian Cup for the first time in 2023.[6] It was Tajikistan's first major tournament.[7][8][9]
| # | Stadium | City | Capacity | Tenants | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 Years of Independence Stadium | Khujand | 25,000 | FC Khujand | |
| 2 | Langari Langarieva Stadium | Kulob | 20,000 | Ravshan Kulob | |
| 3 | Pamir Stadium | Dushanbe | 20,000 | Tajikistan national football team Istiklol CSKA Pamir Dushanbe |  |
| 4 | Istaravshan Stadium | Istaravshan | 18,000 | ||
| 5 | TALCO Arena | Tursunzoda | 13,770 | ||
| 6 | Central Stadium | Bokhtar | 10,000 | FC Khatlon Tajik Telecom Qurghonteppa |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| National teams |
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