The Russian national football team after a year of suspension returns to the international level. In a few months, Valery Karpin’s team will have a unique tournament in which several teams will compete for victory. Including a participant in the World Cup in Qatar.

International association with rich experience

The Football Association of Central Asia (CAFA) has existed since 2015. This organization includes six national federations: Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The headquarters of the association is located in Dushanbe.

CAFA was created to develop and promote football in the participating countries, primarily through the creation and implementation of various youth programs. The association also regularly holds international tournaments with the participation of teams of various ages. Here they are engaged in the development of infrastructure, as well as the training of qualified personnel.

Last year, the organization also held several adult tournaments. Under her auspices, women’s football and futsal championships were held.

Photo: © Central Asian football association

Welcome guests of the international tournament

This year the officials decided to hold the first CAFA championship among senior men’s teams. The tournament will take place this summer. All current members of the association have confirmed their participation in the upcoming event. Spectators will also see the Iranian national team, which recently performed well at the World Cup in Qatar.

The organizers also decided to invite two teams that are not included in CAFA. Their first choice fell on the Russian team. It is also planned to invite another team from Asia. So far, no specific country has been named.

Information about the participation of our team in this CAFA tournament has already been confirmed by the press secretary of the Football Federation of Tajikistan Faridun Saliev.

“The Russian national team will take part in the first championship of the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) with the participation of men’s national teams, which will be held from June 9 to 21 this year,” Match TV quoted the official as saying.

An invitation to this championship will certainly benefit our team. This is much better than being in isolation and being interrupted only by rare test matches. Moreover, there will be an opportunity to play with a very strong team from Iran, which performed well at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.