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Sports

Uzbekistan Eyes Paulo Bento as National Team Coach Amid Ambitious Football Reforms

Reports regarding Uzbekistan’s search for a new head coach for its national football team have taken a significant turn, with Paulo Bento, former manager of South Korea and Portugal, emerging as a leading candidate, according to Football-Asian. The Uzbekistan Football Association (UFA) is seeking a seasoned tactician to lead the team during its landmark debut at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Initial approaches to high-profile names such as Germany’s 2014 World Cup-winning coach Joachim Löw and veteran Turkish manager Fatih Terim failed to yield results. Attention has since shifted to Bento, a 56-year-old Portuguese coach with a strong international and club-level résumé. Bento previously guided Portugal to the semi-finals of Euro 2012 and led South Korea to the Round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. His coaching career also includes stints with clubs in Portugal, Brazil, Greece, and China, as well as a recent tenure with the UAE national team. For Uzbekistan, which qualified for the World Cup for the first time this year, Bento’s tournament experience and tactical acumen are considered valuable assets. “Whether Bento accepts the challenge of leading Central Asia’s standard-bearers remains to be seen, but the very fact he is in the frame underlines Uzbekistan’s determination to think big,” Football-Asian reported. Current manager, Timur Kapadze, who led Uzbekistan to their first World Cup finals appearance, has dismissed rumors that he is to be replaced. "No one from the Football Association has informed me of anything. There was no talk about bringing someone in. It’s hard for me to comment on this news,” Kapadze stated. Domestic Football Reforms Underway In parallel with their reported search for a new coach, Uzbekistan is undertaking structural reforms to strengthen its football development pipeline. A recent presidential decree mandates the creation of a “Legionnaires’ Club” under the UFA, aimed at uniting Uzbek footballers and specialists with experience abroad. These members will collaborate with local academies and football schools to share their expertise. In support of these efforts, state-owned land plots will be allocated under public-private partnerships to help them establish football academies and clubs throughout the country.

Sports

Kazakh Soccer Players Involved in Brawl Face “Severe” Penalties

The Kazakhstan Football Federation said on Friday that it is considering lifetime bans for players involved in a brawl during a youth championship match. Teen-agers lashed out at one another with kicks and punches during the soccer match between the Turan and Ekibastuz teams in the southern Kazakh city of Shymkent. The referee issued several red cards after the melée. The match was part of a national championship among teams of football centers and academies, involving players born in 2011. “Football is a game based on respect, fair competition and the principles of Fair Play. Any acts of aggression and violence, especially by children and adolescents, are considered a gross violation of sports ethics and human values,” the federation said. The federation said referees’ reports and video recordings have been been submitted to its disciplinary committee and a meeting on the brawl is scheduled for next week. “All those found guilty will be subject to severe punishment, up to and including a lifetime ban from football,” it said.

Politics

Tokayev Awarded Ninth-Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo

On Tuesday, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was awarded a ninth-degree black belt, the highest distinction in taekwondo, by Chungwon Choue, president of World Taekwondo (WT), during his visit to Astana. The WT president arrived in Kazakhstan to attend the Kazakhstan Open 2025, an international G-1 ranking tournament taking place from August 14-16. More than 750 athletes from 22 countries will compete in three age categories: cadets, juniors, and adults. On the eve of the tournament, Tokayev presented Choue with the Order of Dostyk, Second Class, in recognition of his contribution to the global development of taekwondo. In return, Choue awarded the Kazakh leader the ninth-degree black belt, symbolizing the highest level of skill and knowledge in the sport. Tokayev said Choue’s visit was a significant event for Kazakhstan’s sporting community and reaffirmed World Taekwondo’s readiness to support the discipline’s growth in the country. Hosting major international competitions in Astana, he noted, will create new opportunities for Kazakhstani athletes and strengthen the national federation’s position. Earlier, Choue met with Gennady Golovkin, President of the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan, to discuss the future of taekwondo in the country. The WT president announced that e-Taekwondo will be added to the Youth Olympic Games and continental championships from 2026. Kazakhstan has already secured the right to host the Grand Prix Final in 2026 and is preparing a bid for the 2027 World Championships. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Taekwondo has been part of the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games program and has featured in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games since 2000.

Sports

Future of Chess: Young Central Asian Players Excel at School Contest in US

Central Asian chess talent shone this week at the 2025 World Schools Team Championship in the United States, where players from dozens of countries competed in an event last held two years ago in Aktau, Kazakhstan. India’s Velammal MHS School won gold, winning all eight of their matches at the event on a high school campus in Alexandria, Virginia. Three teams from Kazakhstan were in the top ten final standings: the National School of Physics and Mathematics in second place, Astana 2 RSPM in fourth place and Seed Educational Complex in eighth. A team from Uzbekistan, Wisdom, came ninth. Also, two of three players who received medals for individual performances were from Central Asia. The competitors who finished with perfect scores (eight out of eight) were Imangali Akhilbay from Kazakhstan’s National School of Physics and Mathematics, Edisa Berdibaeva from Kyrgyzstan’s School-Gymnasium No.11, Karakol and Pranav K. P. from India’s Velammal MHS School. The competition, which ended Wednesday, was held under the auspices of FIDE, the international governing body of chess. It was sponsored by Freedom Holding Corp., an Almaty-based financial services company. The group’s CEO, Timur Turlov, is also president of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation. Turlov has led a drive to introduce chess into hundreds of schools in Kazakhstan, whose top players are also having an impact at elite international levels of the game. “We believe that maybe this could be one of the solutions that can help our kids to better adapt to this fast-moving world,” Turlov said, according to Freedom Holding. The Kazakhstan Chess Federation said some of its players in Alexandria were as young as 12 years old and “gained useful experience playing with strong opponents from all over the world.”

Sports

A Year After Olympic Gold, Uzbek Boxer Mullojonov Enmeshed in Doping Probe

The Uzbekistan Boxing Federation is defending Olympic gold medalist Lazizbek Mullojonov after he tested positive for a banned steroid, saying he may have ingested “prohibited doping substances” during a hair transplant last year. The federation responded this week to online commentary about Mullojonov’s case, which threatens to tarnish his heavyweight victory at the Paris games last year. The boxer has been suspended under international anti-doping codes pending the outcome of the investigation. Some media reports have said he could lose his Olympic medal if a doping violation is confirmed, though Uzbek boxing officials say his Olympic result won’t be affected. “On June 11 of this year, a doping test was taken from our athlete according to international doping rules, and an information letter was submitted to the International Testing Agency (ITA) indicating the presence of prohibited substances based on the test results,” said the federation, stating that Mullojonov had “always” complied with doping rules. “Our athlete underwent a hair transplant surgery on November 19, 2024, at a private clinic in Fergana city after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. It is assumed that during the four-stage surgery and postoperative treatments, he took medications provided by the clinic for treatment, which may have contained some prohibited doping substances.” On July 29, the International Testing Agency said it informed Mullojonov that he had tested positive for methasterone, a steroid that can promote fast muscle growth and increased strength. It said he had the right to request an analysis of a second sample, which would confirm or contradict the first test, and that he can also provide explanations for a positive test. In line with the World Anti-Doping Code and World Boxing anti-doping rules, “a mandatory provisional suspension has been imposed on the athlete,” said the testing agency, which is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Mullojonov can challenge the provisional suspension, it said. The boxer had reached the quarterfinals of the Boxing Grand Prix in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the tournament said on July 27. Two days ago, in an apparent reference to Mullojonov, it said that there was one “adverse finding” among 95 anti-doping tests that had been conducted in connection with the tournament and an investigation is ongoing. “The Tournament participant whose sample yielded the adverse finding had won his bouts in Phases 1 and 2. He will not participate in Phase 3,” said the tournament, which is organized by the World Boxing Council. Phase 3 is the quarterfinals stage. Mullojonov, 26, also won gold in the super-heavyweight category at the Asian Championships in 2022. Now he awaits a final decision on what the International Testing Agency called “an apparent anti-doping rule violation.”

Sports

Uzbekistan Joins Asian Cricket Council as Sport Gains Momentum

Uzbekistan has taken another major step in its cricket journey, as the Cricket Federation of Uzbekistan (CFU) was officially welcomed into the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) during its conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh on July 30. In 2022 Uzbekistan became an Associate Member of the sport’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC). Cricket has grown swiftly in Uzbekistan, with more than 4,000 players now participating in schools, universities, and community clubs across the country. The CFU has introduced cricket to 253 sports schools, using ICC training materials translated into Uzbek to engage young players. Facilities have been set up in Tashkent, Chirchiq, and Samarkand, laying the groundwork for Uzbekistan’s first national cricket team. “Becoming part of the Asian Cricket Council is a historic step for Uzbekistan,” CFU Chairman Aziz Mihliev said. “It connects us with the wider Asian cricket community and strengthens our ability to grow the sport locally. With the support of the ICC and ACC, we are committed to developing grassroots cricket, training local coaches, and providing more opportunities for young Uzbeks to experience this global sport.” This membership places Uzbekistan among Asia’s recognised cricket nations, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. Last year, the Times of Central Asia reported that Uzbekistan’s cricket team was preparing to play its first international matches, possibly against Mongolia.