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CAFA Nations Cup

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CAFA Nations Cup

The CAFA Nations Cup is an international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA), the governing body of football in Central Asia. Established in 2023, the tournament features Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, with occasional invited guest nations. It is held biennially and serves as the flagship competition of CAFA, aiming to promote football development and regional unity. The inaugural edition took place in Tashkent and Bishkek, with Iran claiming the first title.

Infobox

Organiser(s)
CAFA
Founded
2023
Region
Central Asia
Teams
8 (2025)
Current champions
Uzbekistan (1st title)
Most championships
Iran (1 title) Uzbekistan (1 title)
Website
the-cafa.com

Tables

· Results
1
1
Edition
1
Year
2023
Hosts
Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan
Col 4
Iran
Champions
1–0
Score
Uzbekistan
Runners-up
Oman
Col 8
1–0
Third place
Kyrgyzstan
Score
7
2
2
Edition
2
Year
2025
Hosts
Tajikistan Uzbekistan
Col 4
Uzbekistan
Champions
1–0 (a.e.t.)
Score
Iran
Runners-up
India
Col 8
1–1(a.e.t.)(3–2 p)
Third place
Oman
Score
8
Edition
Year
Hosts
Champions
Score
Runners-up
Third place
Score
Fourth place
No. of teams
1
2023
Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan
Iran
1–0
Uzbekistan
Oman
1–0
Kyrgyzstan
7
2
2025
Tajikistan Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
1–0 (a.e.t.)
Iran
India
1–1(a.e.t.)(3–2 p)
Oman
8
· Overall team records
1
1
Rank
1
Team
Uzbekistan
Part
2
Pld
8
W
6
D
1
L
1
GF
18
GA
4
GD
+14
Pts
19
2
2
Rank
2
Team
Iran
Part
2
Pld
7
W
5
D
1
L
1
GF
20
GA
6
GD
+14
Pts
16
3
3
Rank
3
Team
Oman
Part
2
Pld
8
W
4
D
3
L
1
GF
10
GA
8
GD
+2
Pts
15
4
4
Rank
4
Team
Tajikistan
Part
2
Pld
6
W
1
D
3
L
2
GF
8
GA
11
GD
–3
Pts
6
5
5
Rank
5
Team
India
Part
1
Pld
4
W
1
D
2
L
1
GF
3
GA
5
GD
–2
Pts
5
6
6
Rank
6
Team
Kyrgyzstan
Part
2
Pld
6
W
1
D
1
L
4
GF
6
GA
13
GD
–7
Pts
4
7
7
Rank
7
Team
Turkmenistan
Part
2
Pld
6
W
0
D
2
L
4
GF
4
GA
10
GD
–6
Pts
2
8
8
Rank
8
Team
Afghanistan
Part
2
Pld
5
W
0
D
1
L
4
GF
2
GA
14
GD
–12
Pts
1
Rank
Team
Part
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Uzbekistan
2
8
6
1
1
18
4
+14
19
2
Iran
2
7
5
1
1
20
6
+14
16
3
Oman
2
8
4
3
1
10
8
+2
15
4
Tajikistan
2
6
1
3
2
8
11
–3
6
5
India
1
4
1
2
1
3
5
–2
5
6
Kyrgyzstan
2
6
1
1
4
6
13
–7
4
7
Turkmenistan
2
6
0
2
4
4
10
–6
2
8
Afghanistan
2
5
0
1
4
2
14
–12
1
Teams reaching the top four · Overall team records
Iran
Iran
Team
Iran
Titles
1 (2023)
Runners-up
1 (2025)
Total
2
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Team
Uzbekistan
Titles
1 (2025)
Runners-up
1 (2023)
Total
2
Oman
Oman
Team
Oman
Third place
1 (2023)
Fourth place
1 (2025)
Total
2
India
India
Team
India
Third place
1 (2025)
Total
1
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Team
Kyrgyzstan
Fourth place
1 (2023)
Total
1
Team
Titles
Runners-up
Third place
Fourth place
Total
Iran
1 (2023)
1 (2025)
2
Uzbekistan
1 (2025)
1 (2023)
2
Oman
1 (2023)
1 (2025)
2
India
1 (2025)
1
Kyrgyzstan
1 (2023)
1
· Comprehensive results
Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Team
Afghanistan
2023(7)
GS
2025(8)
GS
Total
2
Iran
Iran
Team
Iran
2023(7)
1st
2025(8)
2nd
Total
2
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Team
Kyrgyzstan
2023(7)
4th
2025(8)
GS
Total
2
Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Team
Tajikistan
2023(7)
GS
2025(8)
GS
Total
2
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Team
Turkmenistan
2023(7)
GS
2025(8)
GS
Total
2
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Team
Uzbekistan
2023(7)
2nd
2025(8)
1st
Total
2
Invited teams
Invited teams
Team
Invited teams
India
India
Team
India
2023(7)
×
2025(8)
3rd
Total
1
Oman
Oman
Team
Oman
2023(7)
3rd
2025(8)
4th
Total
2
Team
2023(7)
2025(8)
Total
Afghanistan
GS
GS
2
Iran
1st
2nd
2
Kyrgyzstan
4th
GS
2
Tajikistan
GS
GS
2
Turkmenistan
GS
GS
2
Uzbekistan
2nd
1st
2
Invited teams
India
×
3rd
1
Oman
3rd
4th
2
· Awards
2023
2023
Year
2023
Winning coaches
Amir Ghalenoei
Most valuable player
Mehdi Taremi
Top goalscorers
Mehdi Taremi (6)
Best goalkeeper
Ibrahim Al-Mukhaini
Fair play award
Uzbekistan
2025
2025
Year
2025
Winning coaches
Timur Kapadze
Most valuable player
Khojiakbar Alijonov
Top goalscorers
Igor Sergeev (3)
Best goalkeeper
Payam Niazmand
Fair play award
Tajikistan
Year
Winning coaches
Most valuable player
Top goalscorers
Best goalkeeper
Fair play award
2023
Amir Ghalenoei
Mehdi Taremi
Mehdi Taremi (6)
Ibrahim Al-Mukhaini
Uzbekistan
2025
Timur Kapadze
Khojiakbar Alijonov
Igor Sergeev (3)
Payam Niazmand
Tajikistan

References

  1. "اتحادیه فوتبال آسیای مرکزی ایجاد شد"
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/afghanistan/2015/02/150221_zs_central_asian_football_association
  2. "'Central Zone' gets thumbs up from Tajikistan"
    http://www.the-afc.com/en/about-afc/afc-committees/1127-executive-committee/28784-central-zone-gets-thumbs-up-from-tajikistan.html
  3. "AFC adds a fifth zone as Extraordinary Congress approves amendments to AFC Statutes"
    http://www.the-afc.com/executive-committee/afc-adds-a-fifth-zone-as-extraordinary-congress-approves-amendments-to-afc
  4. "Central Asians meet Sheikh Salman to create CAFA"
    https://web.archive.org/web/20141029194753/http://aff.org.af/english/central-asians-meet-sheikh-salman-to-create-cafa/
  5. Reuters
    https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/russia-invited-play-central-asian-soccer-tournament-2023-03-14/
  6. "Iran to participate in first senior men's CAFA tournament in June 2023 – PersianFootball.com"
    https://www.persianfootball.com/news/2023/03/13/iran-to-participate-in-first-senior-mens-cafa-tournament-in-june-2023/
  7. "Bishkek 🇰🇬 & Tashkent 🇺🇿 will host the group stage; 2 x four teams, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan + two guests. The two invited guests are Russia & Thailand, yet China is also interested. Tashkent will host the final & third place playoff"
    https://x.com/Martin_Lowe_/status/1635344903369805826
  8. "Iran to participate in four-nation football tournament [Report] – PersianFootball.com"
    https://www.persianfootball.com/news/2023/04/03/iran-to-participate-in-four-nation-football-tournament-report/
  9. "Doubts over Russia participation as CAFA Championship set to reveal line-up"
    https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1135964/doubts-over-russia-cafa-championship
  10. PersianLeague.Com (Iran Football League)
    https://www.persianleague.com/17161-iran-natl-football-team-to-play-in-cafa-along-with-russia
  11. "Russia Withdraws from 2023 CAFA - Sports news - Tasnim News Agency"
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2023/04/19/2882735/russia-withdraws-from-2023-cafa/
  12. "Russia confirm they will not participate in this year's upcoming CAFA Championship. "The decision was due to the timing of the tournament, coinciding with domestic competitions, including the final of the Russian Football Cup." - RFU spokesman https://t.co/XN6GUR4TFS"
    https://x.com/Martin_Lowe_/status/1648705117590364161
  13. "June's CAFA Nations Cup 2023, will be drawn on Wednesday. Pot 1 - Iran & Uzbekistan (Group A host) Pot 2 - Kyrgyzstan (Group B host) & Tajikistan Pot 3 - Turkmenistan & Afghanistan Pot 4 - Oman Hopes of an 8th team were dashed after Russia declined the invitation"
    https://x.com/Martin_Lowe_/status/1650495190501564421
  14. "Thailand have turned down their invitation to join June's CAFA Championship. Oman now look in pole position to complete the tournament's line-up. Participation deadline is 31 March"
    https://x.com/Martin_Lowe_/status/1640606432314683394
  15. "Central Asian Football Association on Instagram: "It's our great pleasure to announce about upcoming first ever CAFA Senior Championship in history of Central Asian Football Association 🤩 CAFA Nations Cup 2023⚽️ Participating teams: 🇦🇫 Afghanistan 🇮🇷 I.R. Iran 🇰🇬 Kyrgyz Republic 🇹🇯 Tajikistan 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan 🇺🇿Uzbekistan 🇴🇲Oman Draw Ceremony for the competition will be held as follows : 📆 Wednesday, 26 April 2023 ⏰14:00 (Dushanbe local time, GMT+5) 📺 CAFA YouTube Channel Teams drawn in group B will play their matches on 10,13 and 16 of June, while group a matches will be played on 11, 14, and 17 June accordingly. Final match and match for the third place will be played on 20th of June in capital city of 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan. We will keep update you with further information 🔜 #CafaNationsCup""
    https://www.instagram.com/p/CrbO471sdF2/
  16. "Iran to play friendly matches against Russia and Chile – PersianFootball.com"
    https://www.persianfootball.com/news/2025/04/07/iran-to-play-friendly-matches-against-russia-and-chile/
  17. "Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) changes its logo -"
    https://24.kg/english/316069_Central_Asian_Football_Association_CAFA_changes_its_logo/
  18. "CAFA Nations Cup-2025: A championship with fierce competition and new guests - Zamin.uz, 28.06.2025"
    https://zamin.uz/en/sport/153326-cafa-nations-cup-2025-a-championship-with-fierce-competition-and-new-guests.html
  19. "Uzbekistan to host CAFA Nations Cup 2025"
    https://www.qalampir.uz/en/news/uzbekiston-futbol-buyicha-yirik-musobak-aga-mezbonlik-k-iladi-120850
  20. Zamin.uz
    https://zamin.uz/en/sport/154674-why-did-malaysia-withdraw-from-the-cafa-nations-cup-2025.html
  21. AIFF Media Team
    https://www.the-aiff.com/article/india-to-play-cafa-nations-cup-2025
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