No payment made to Dutch side for friendly match – Uzbekistan Football Association

The national teams of Uzbekistan and the Netherlands are scheduled to play a friendly match on June 8 in New York. Speculation regarding a hefty appearance fee intensified after Sherzod Igamberdiev, the former head of the UFA National Teams Department, stated online that $300,000 was being spent to organize this closed-door training match against the Dutch squad.

The association formally countered the narrative by clarifying how its international fixtures are funded. Representatives pointed out that the UFA did not pay any appearance fees for previous high–profile matches against Cameroon, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Venezuela, Russia, the United States, Mexico, Uruguay, and Canada. Instead, the association generated a net profit of $525,000 from participating in those specific games.

In an official statement, the football body clarified that no financial payout is being made to the Dutch football federation for this friendly match. Under the terms of the mutual agreement, the necessary operational expenses, including stadium rental, security infrastructure, broadcasting logistics, and other administrative overheads, are being split equally between the two sides. The UFA emphasized that its match arrangements are consistently built on mutually beneficial cooperation and established international sporting norms.

The Uzbekistan Football Association urged fans, media outlets, and the general public to rely only on verified statements and remain vigilant against unverified information online.