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Sports

Tajikistan to Chronicle Soccer Legacy with New Museum and Landmark Book

A museum dedicated to the history of Tajik soccer will be inaugurated in a new stadium currently under construction in Dushanbe. The project was initiated by Rustami Emomali, Mayor of Dushanbe and President of the Tajikistan Football Federation. A People's Archive of Soccer Heritage The Tajikistan Football Federation has called on fans, athletes, and sports veterans to contribute memorabilia related to the country's soccer history. Sought-after items include match jerseys, medals, trophies, certificates, books, and any other artifacts that reflect the evolution of soccer in Tajikistan. “The owners of valuable items and objects, as well as the authors of significant materials, will be recognized and encouraged,” the federation said in a public appeal. In parallel with the museum, the federation is preparing to publish The History of Tajik Soccer, the first comprehensive volume covering all major milestones in the sport’s national development. From the First Matches to the Soviet Leagues Soccer began to gain popularity in Tajikistan in the early 1920s. In 1936, the Tajikistan Football Federation was formally established, and a year later, the first championship of the Tajik SSR took place. Dinamo, a club from Stalinobod (now Dushanbe), emerged as the inaugural champion. In 1947, Dinamo debuted in the USSR championship, marking the beginning of Tajikistan’s participation in Soviet leagues. A defining moment came in 1989 when Dushanbe's Pamir club competed in the Supreme League of the Soviet Union, a peak achievement during the Soviet soccer era that remains a point of pride for the country. A New Era After Independence With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Tajik soccer entered a new chapter. The Tajikistan Football Federation became a member of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation in 1994, enabling the country to participate in global and regional competitions. Today, Tajikistan is investing in soccer infrastructure, focusing on youth training and international performance. The upcoming museum and book aim to celebrate the sport’s rich past while inspiring future generations of players and fans.

Cultural Heritage

Gold Coin From Ancient Abbasid Caliphate Found in Turkmenistan

A local history museum in the Mary region of Turkmenistan has received a gold coin dating from the 9th or 10th century. The museum's director, Yazgul Tirkishova, has said that the dinar coin was donated by a resident of the village of Zakhmet named Nurmuhammed Babayev. The gold dinar comes from one of the largest empires of the Islamic world, the Abbasid Caliphate. The Caliphate emerged in the 7th century and stretched from Spain to India; its gold currency was a sign of its power and prosperity. Coins of this type, weighing 4.25-4.27 grams and containing quotations from the Qur'an, became the standard of coinage for centuries. The acquisition of the dinar is a significant event for Turkmenistan's historians. The staff at the museum intend to thoroughly study the coin, compare it with other known specimens, and possibly discover new facts about the region's life and culture during the Abbasid era. The study of such artifacts helps modern scholars gain a deeper understanding of the complex history of the Islamic world, its economy, and culture and assess the Abbasid Caliphate's influence on world history.

Uzbekistan Japan Art and Culture museum POWs

Uzbekistan Opens New Museum Commemorating WW2 Japanese POWs

On 30 April, Uzbekistan Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change Aziz Abdukhakimov joined by Ambassador of Japan to Uzbekistan Hatori Takashi, founder and director of the museum, Jalil Sultanov, and representatives of the Japan Society in Uzbekistan to celebrate the opening of a new museum in Tashkent commemorating Japanese prisoners of war. Over 20,000 Japanese POWs captured by the Soviet Union during the second world war, were interned in Uzbekistan between 1945-1950. During this period, the prisoners were dispersed across the country to construct buildings, dams, and roads in regions including Angren, Bekabad, and Kokand, and in Tashkent, built the Alisher Navoi Opera Theatre, the Mukini Theatre, the Central Telegraph and Ministry of Culture, as well as barracks still in use today. According to estimates, 817 died in the process. The new premises, under construction since 2023, replace the original museum founded in May 1998. Housing photographs, documents, and artefacts, such as prisoners’ workwear and a wooden crib made for the local market, the collections testify to the lives of Japanese POWs in Uzbekistan, and given a new lease of life, are expected to become a major draw for Japanese tourists visiting the country.