| Football in Uzbekistan | |
|---|---|
 100 Years of Uzbek Football onpostage stamp of Uzbekistan | |
| Country | Uzbekistan |
| Governing body | Uzbekistan Football Federation |
| National team | men's national team |
| National competitions | |
| International competitions | |
Football is the most popular sport inUzbekistan, a country that gainedindependence in 1991. Approximately 30% of the people in Uzbekistan are interested in football[1]
The national association takes part in all competitions organised byFIFA and theAsian Football Confederation.[2]
Football in Uzbekistan started to develop in the 1920s. In 1926, the first championship[3] of theUzbek SSR (i.e.Uzbek League) was held.Sbornaya Tashkenta andSokol Tashkent were the most successful clubs in the competition. However the most successful club wasFC Pakhtakor, the only football club fromUzbek SSR that played in theUSSR Top League with 22 seasons.[4] TheUzbekistan Football Federation was founded in 1946.
Berador Abduraimov[citation needed] is the most famous Uzbekistani footballer during the Soviet period. He played 358 matches forFC Pakhtakor,[5] was top goalscorer of theSoviet Top League in 1968, and represented theSoviet Union at youth level.
Between 1961 and 1992, severalUzbekistani footballers had been members of theUSSR national football team:
| Name | Position | Team | Caps(Goals) | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gennadi Krasnitsky | Striker |  USSR | 3(1) | 1961 |
| Berador Abduraimov | Striker | USSR | ?(?) | 1967[6] |
| Yuri Pshenichnikov | Goalkeeper | USSR | 21(0) | 1966-1970 |
| Vladimir Fyodorov | Striker | USSR | 18(0) | 1974-1978 |
| Vassilis Hatzipanagis | Midfield | USSR | 4(1) | 1975 |
| Mikhail An | Midfield | USSR | 2(0) | 1978 |
| Andrei Piatnitski | Midfield | USSR CIS | 6(2) | 1990-1992 |
In 1994,Uzbekistan Football Federation was reestablished and became a member ofFIFA andAsian Football Confederation.In the same year, theUzbekistan national football team won theAsian Games,[7] 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'sU-20 team qualified for theFIFA World Youth Championship in 2003, which was hosted by theUAE. Uzbekistan U-19 reached the semi-finals of AFC U-19 Championships twice in2012 and2014 and once qualified to the final in2008 but defeated by UAE U-19. After the achievement in 2003, Uzbekistan U-20 has participated inFIFA U-20 World Cup three more times so far. In 2009 mundial the team finished its appearance in group stage.[8] 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.[9] The team made an appearance in2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup and qualified to quarterfinal, and defeated by Senegal U-20 with 0–1.[10]
Uzbekistan U-16 wonAFC U-16 Championship in 2012 and it was the second final which the team qualified. In2010 AFC U-16 Championship U-16 lost to North Korea U-16 in the final match. Uzbekistan U-16 has qualified toFIFA U-17 World Cup twice in2011 and2013. In the debut year in the tournament the team finished its appearance in quarterfinal,[11] defeated byUruguay U-17. Uzbekistan U-16 was stopped by Honduras U-17 in round of 16 in2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[12]
In 2018Uzbekistan U-23 became the champions inAFC U-23 Championship hosted byChina. The team defeatedVietnem 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 the2011 AFC Asian Cup.
The most successful football clubs inUzbekistan areFC Bunyodkor,FC Pakhtakor andFC Nasaf.
In 2007 Pakhtakor won2007 CIS Cup by defeatingFK Ventspils, from Latvia, with 9-8 on penalties. The next season ofCIS Cup Pakhtakor reached the final of the competition for the back-to-back second time but lost toKhazar Lenkoran. The team is also perennial competitor in theAFC Champions League, having reached the semi-finals of the competition twice in2003 and2004. Pakhtakor currently holds record in number of consecutive participation in AFC Champions League, participating from 2002 to 2013
FC Nasaf wonAFC Cup in 2011, defeatingKuwait SC with 2–1 in the final of the tournament and became Uzbekistan's first club to win AFC Cup.
FC Bunyodkor's best achievement is the semi-finals ofAFC Champions League:2008, a debut year of the team in the competition, and the second time in2012.[13]
Ravshan Irmatov 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 2015Globe Soccer Awards.[14][15]
Notable Uzbekistani footballers since independence from theSoviet Union includeServer Djeparov (2008 Asian Footballer of the year),Igor Shkvyrin (top goal scorer of the1994 Asian Games),Mirjalol Qosimov andMaksim Shatskikh.
In 2014, Uzbekistan was one of the eight nations to take part in the firstUnity World Cup.[16]
In 2023, the Surkhon club sponsored byBakhtiyor Fazilov did well in the matches of the Uzbekistan Superleague and the Uzbekistan Cup.[17]
local and lower league organizations are not included.
| Club | Domestic Titles | Worldwide Titles | Overall titles | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uzbekistan Super League | Uzbekistan Cup | Uzbekistan Super Cup | Uzbekistan League Cup | CIS Cup | Total | AFC Champions League Two | ||
| Pakhtakor | 16 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 34 | - | 34 |
| Nasaf | 1 | 4 | 4 | - | - | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| Bunyodkor | 5 | 4 | 1 | - | - | 10 | - | 10 |
| Lokomotiv Tashkent | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | 8 | - | 8 |
| Neftchi Fergana | 5 | 2 | - | - | - | 7 | - | 7 |
| Navbahor Namangan | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 5 | - | 5 |
| Dustlik | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | 3 | - | 3 |
| AGMK | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | 2 | - | 2 |
| Sogdiana | - | - | - | 2 | - | 2 | - | 2 |
| MHSK | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Andijon | - | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Khorazm | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Mash'al | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Shurtan Guzar | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | 1 |
