India have been invited to affix subsequent month’s Central Asian soccer Nations Cup in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
India have been invited to play within the Central Asian Soccer Affiliation’s (CAFA) Nations Cup subsequent month, the regional soccer federation has confirmed, alongside FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers Iran and Uzbekistan.
The second version of the event – Iran gained the inaugural occasion in 2023 – will run from August 29 to September 8.
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are the host nations.
The regional event illustrates a major thaw in diplomatic ties between Central Asian nations after many years of tensions and conflicts for the reason that fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
“With one month to go, preparations are in full swing to ship a event geared toward growing soccer and strengthening worldwide collaboration throughout the area,” CAFA mentioned.
Along with India, the six members of CAFA – Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan – will compete.
Oman was additionally invited and can play within the event for the second time.
Kazakhstan, an enormous nation in Central Asia and a significant regional energy, can be notably absent from the event as it’s a member of UEFA.
Uzbekistan’s historic qualification final month for the World Cup finals was seen as an emblem of the fast rise of soccer in Central Asian nations, historically extra profitable in fight sports activities than staff sports activities.
In recent times, the previous Soviet republics of Central Asia have made a number of notable breakthroughs.
All take pleasure in robust state help, with CAFA headed by the son of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.
The Indian males’s nationwide staff are presently with out a coach, whereas the Indian Tremendous League (ISL) – India’s high home competitors – is at risk of collapse following a dispute between the federation and its industrial companion.
The present turmoil led Sunil Chhetri, India’s celebrated veteran striker, to submit on X concerning the destiny of the ISL.
“All people within the Indian soccer ecosystem is anxious, damage, scared concerning the uncertainty we’re confronted with,” he mentioned.
