A historical achievement that has further united our people

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the match of the Uzbekistan national football team at the Bunyodkor stadium on June 10.

The final game of the World Cup qualifying stage became a real celebration of Uzbek football. But our football players secured their ticket to the World Cup ahead of schedule: for the first time in history, the national team of Uzbekistan will take part in the World Football Championship!

The dream that millions of fans have cherished for many years has become a reality. Before this, the team took part in the qualifying tournaments seven times, but each time something was missing - either an inconvenient calendar, or a goal difference, or a little bit of skill.

To leave no room for excuses, strength was needed, a base was needed. By presidential decree of March 16, 2018, the football development program for 2018–2022 was adopted. In 14 regions of the country, academies of children's and youth football have been created, where talented children are selected, their professional training and the formation of reserves for national teams. The quality of training and tournaments has improved. Particular attention was paid to the training of coaches, referees and specialists.

On December 4, 2019, the President signed the Decree “On measures to bring football development in Uzbekistan to a completely new stage.” The document provided for the development of clubs, the training of international specialists, the organization of a modern educational and training process for national teams, and the holding of prestigious competitions in the country. The presidential decree of April 8, 2023 on the comprehensive development of mass and professional football was also of great importance.

Thanks to such a careful and systematic approach, the first serious results began to come. In 2018, our U-23 team became the Asian champion in China, and in 2023, the U-20 team repeated this success at the tournament in Tashkent. The country has begun holding tournaments under the auspices of FIFA and AFC.

In 2024, a new page was opened in the development of Uzbek football - the U23 youth team competed at the Olympic Games for the first time in history.

Successes continue this year. In April in Saudi Arabia, our U17 football players won the Asian Cup and received a ticket to the World Cup. And now the main team has achieved historic success.

Uzbekistan competed in Group “A” of the third qualifying stage. For almost a year, our team fought against Iran, Qatar, UAE, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea. On June 5, the match with the UAE was recorded as a draw. According to the results of the 9th round, the team scored 18 points and secured participation in the World Cup ahead of schedule.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his congratulations noted that our players showed real courage and perseverance, realizing the dream of the Uzbek people.

– I am confident that this historic victory will unite our people even more people on the path to noble goals, will become a source of inspiration and an example for thousands of our young people, will serve to further strengthen the international authority of New Uzbekistan,” the head of state emphasized.

And indeed, this historic victory united and delighted the entire country. The final game of the qualifying stage - the match between Uzbekistan and Qatar - turned into a real celebration.

In front of its loyal fans, the Uzbekistan national team demonstrated complete superiority and won with a score of 3:0.

In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated June 6, for the first in the country's history to qualify for the World Cup, for their contribution to educating youth in the spirit of love for sports and national pride, a group of football players and coaches of the national team Uzbekistan was awarded state awards. After the match, a solemn awards ceremony took place. The head of state presented the athletes with honorary titles, orders and medals. In addition, the players and specialists were presented with BYD cars.

Together with the head of our state, the match was watched by the President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev and the Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico, as well as the heads of governments of the Central Asian countries.

The football holiday ended with a drone show and fireworks.

The 2026 World Cup will take place from June 11 to July 19 in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The tournament will involve 48 teams divided into 12 groups. The teams that take first and second places, as well as the 8 best from among the third, will advance to the next stage. Our people are looking forward to new victories from our football players.

Official website of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan