“Drowning in debt”: Bunyodkor stadium employees say they have gone months without pay

Workers including cleaners, electricians, plumbers, and security guards told Kun.uz they have received only partial payments since December.

“When we ask about our salaries, they keep telling us to wait another day or two. Everyone here has loans and families to support”, security employee Aziz Mansurov said.

Mansurov noted that he had received only one payment of UZS 1 million and two additional payments of UZS 500,000 each over the past several months. He said debt collectors had already seized household appliances from his home after he fell behind on payments.

“Everyone is drowning in debt,” he added.

Another employee, Dilfuza Makhmudova, said many workers were struggling to cover basic expenses while supporting children and paying university tuition fees.

“There are people preparing for weddings, families where both husband and wife work here, and households with young children. People are in a very difficult situation,” she said.

Security worker Abduvahob Allaberganov told Kun.uz that staff had heard football players and academy employees continued to receive salaries while technical workers remained unpaid.

“All of us survive on our salaries. We have no other source of income. Even if we don’t get paid, utility companies still demand payment,” he noted.

Chief engineer Bahodir Rajabov said the outstanding wages could be paid by the end of May if the stadium secures a new sponsor.

“Our organization used to be financed by Uzbekneftegaz, but sponsorship programs were suspended. Once a sponsor is allocated, all outstanding wages will be paid,” Rajabov stressed.

Since 2018, the stadium directorate had been financed by state-owned energy company Uzbekneftegaz under a presidential decree. However, the company stopped funding football clubs, including FC Bunyodkor, FC Nasaf and FC Bukhara, from January 2026 as part of broader cost-cutting measures linked to declining gas production and efforts to reduce non-core spending.

Under a new state support program, clubs competing in the Uzbekistan Super League are expected to receive UZS 35 billion each from the state budget in 2026. However, the financing of the stadium directorate itself remains unresolved. The directorate is fully owned by the Uzbekistan Football Association.

Opened in 2012, Bunyodkor Stadium is one of Uzbekistan’s largest sports venues, with a capacity of around 34,000 spectators. Construction began in 2008 but stalled after the collapse of Zeromax, a conglomerate reportedly linked to Gulnara Karimova, daughter of former Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov. The project was later completed under state supervision.