“For the first time in history, our Olympic team competed at the Olympics in Paris. For the first time, the national team won a ticket to the next World Cup. And now in Qatar, our U-17 footballers are defending the country's honor as Asian champions,” the president said at the ceremony.
Today, 20 Uzbek footballers play for prestigious foreign clubs, with a combined market value exceeding $60 million. President Mirziyoyev highlighted that Uzbek player Abdukodir Khusanov has become the most expensive footballer in Asia.
He also noted that during FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s recent visit to Uzbekistan, the global football chief highly praised the country’s growing attention to football, its newly developed infrastructure, management reforms, and overall transformation of the sport. According to Infantino, the international football community holds great respect for Uzbekistan, which is now recognized as one of Asia’s emerging football powerhouses.
On October 2, the FIFA Council decided that the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup will be jointly hosted by Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. Each country will host matches in three stadiums, with the semifinals and final to be held at a venue accommodating more than 50,000 spectators – one of FIFA’s key requirements.
“That is why we are starting construction of a facility that is important for domestic football – a stadium in New Tashkent. Why was New Tashkent chosen for this $100 million project? Because New Tashkent will become a center of opportunities and cutting-edge ideas,” the president stated.
All projects in New Tashkent are being implemented under a unified concept that harmoniously blends modern architecture with national values, focusing on environmental sustainability and smart urban management. The new stadium, designed according to this concept, will integrate with the natural landscape and be built on principles of green energy, smart management, and a comfortable urban environment.
The stadium will meet all FIFA standards and become one of the largest and most technologically advanced football arenas in Asia. It will serve not only as a venue for the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup but also as a driving force for the long-term development of Uzbek football and youth sports.
