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UAE

Long Airport Screenings for Uzbek Fans Ahead of World Cup Qualifier in UAE

Football fans from Uzbekistan have experienced lengthy airport screenings on arriving in the United Arab Emirates to attend a World Cup qualifying match that could, in the event of a win for their team, send the Central Asian country into its first FIFA World Cup. More than 100 Uzbek fans who traveled to the UAE ahead of the June 5 game between Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates were “detained” at Sharjah airport for seven to nine hours on Monday, the Gazeta.uz media outlet reported. A journalist from the outlet who was among the passengers on the flight said women and elderly people were let through first, but many men were held for long periods. The delays, which prompted the two governments to hold negotiations aimed at improving the situation, come just over a month after warnings that the visa-free arrangement between Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates could be in jeopardy because of an increase in violations by Uzbek citizens in the emirates. In March, a court in Abu Dhabi sentenced three Uzbek citizens to death after they were convicted of murdering Zvi Kogan, an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi whose body was discovered in the Emirati city of Al Ain in 2024. In April, more than a dozen Uzbek nationals were detained after a street brawl in Dubai in which some people were stabbed and one was reportedly killed. Following the recent airport delays for football fans, a spokesman for Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said its diplomats in Abu Dhabi and Dubai held urgent negotiations with UAE officials. “According to the UAE, screening times at airports are increasing due to increased security measures in the country in connection with various international events,” ministry spokesman Akhror Burkhanov said on Telegram. “Currently, all resources have been mobilized to quickly screen our citizens, and as a result, they have begun to enter the country.” Uzbekistan’s national team is second with 17 points in Group A after Iran, which has already qualified. FIFA says “a point in Abu Dhabi would send Uzbekistan into a maiden FIFA World Cup,” but the Central Asian team can still qualify if it then beats Qatar at home. The World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico in 2026.

tennis

Creature of Clay: Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik Reaches Quarterfinals at Roland Garros

Tennis player Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, who has said he hates clay, is developing a taste for the surface at Roland Garros. On Monday, Bublik defeated Jack Draper of Great Britain to reach the quarterfinals in Paris, his best performance in a major tournament. After the four-set victory, the world no. 62 fell to the ground in joy and relief and then got up, his face smeared with the court’s red clay. “Sometimes in life there’s only one chance and I had a feeling that that was mine and I couldn’t let it slip,” the Russia-born player said in an on-court interview with Alex Corretja, a former Spanish player who thrived on clay when he was on the tour. "Standing here is the best moment of my life. Period,” said the unseeded Bublik, who came back from one set down in the 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Draper, a top ten player. In 2022, after defeating Stan Wawrinka in Monte Carlo, Bublik complained that he was moving like an “elephant” on the clay and declared: “I hate this surface.” Bublik isn’t the only player to have struggled with clay, which tends to involve a lot of sliding, high bounces and grit and patience during long, energy-sapping rallies. Maria Sharapova once said she felt like “a cow on ice” on clay, though she won two of her five majors at Roland Garros. Similarly, it took a while for Andre Agassi to warm to clay but one of his eight majors came in Paris. Bublik isn’t in the league of those champions, but just as they did, he is coming around to clay. His best previous result at a Grand Slam tournament was the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2023. “All of Bublik's four tour-level titles and 11 finals have come on either hard or grass courts. His 25 wins and 41 per cent win rate on clay entering Roland Garros are both his lowest marks across all surfaces,” the ATP Tour website said. “You know, I’m standing here like I won” the tournament, the delighted 27-year-old said after the win over Draper. “But at the end, yeah, what can I say. Thank you guys. I mean I can’t cry here. Come on, stop. Let me be in peace.” When Corretja invited him to go ahead and cry, Bublik said: “I still have a match to go. I’m a professional tennis player. I’ve got to get ready.” That’s for sure. On Wednesday, he plays world no. 1 Jannik Sinner.

Chess Championship

Two More Grandmasters for Kazakhstan, an Emerging Chess Power

A 14-year-old boy from Kazakhstan is awaiting confirmation that he is the country’s youngest chess grandmaster after he improved his rating at a tournament in the United Arab Emirates this month. Also, a 21-year-old woman is poised to become Kazakhstan’s second female grandmaster after the same contest. The international results come as Kazakhstan pushes to develop homegrown chess talent and impart intellectual skills to young people, introducing chess into the curricula of hundreds of schools, training chess teachers and even supporting chess federations in some Asian countries, including Oman, Nepal, Cambodia, Jordan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. “Trainers, methods, equipment for chess classes - all this has become an export product of Kazakhstan,” the Kazakhstan Chess Federation said Wednesday as its congress of 50 delegates met in Astana to review 2024 accomplishments and plan for the future. Kazakhstani player Edgar Mamedov, who turns 15 on June 18, achieved a rating of more than 2500 because of his results at the Sharjah Masters International Chess Championship, according to the federation. The 2500 rating is one of the requirements to secure the grandmaster title. “All that remains is to wait for the official confirmation of the title,” it said. Confirmation would come at the next meeting of the presidential council of FIDE, the Switzerland-based governing body of chess. The last meeting was held in April. A 16-year-old player from Kazakhstan, Aldiyar Ansat, was close to grandmaster status at the start of the year and was touted as the frontrunner to become the Central Asian nation’s youngest GM. But Mamedov got there first. The tournament in Sharjah also featured a woman from Kazakhstan who secured the grandmaster rating after a strong performance. Like Mamedov, Bibisara Asaubayeva is awaiting official confirmation that she has the title. She will be Kazakhstan’s second female grandmaster after Zhansaya Abdumalik. Asaubayeva had the best result among women in Sharjah, beating Chinese player Zhu Jiner, the winner of the Women's Grand Prix of the 2024–25 season, by one point, and Divya Deshmukh, the winner of the 2024 Chess Olympiad as part of the Indian team, by one and a half points, according to Kazakh chess officials. “Finally, GM,” Asaubayeva wrote on Instagram after she got the grandmaster rating. She added a smiling emoji with sunglasses. Kazakhstan currently has nine confirmed and active grandmasters, according to FIDE. One of them, Rinat Dzhumabayev, also participated in the May 17-25 contest in Sharjah. A total of 64 grandmasters and 17 international masters competed. Player Nurassyl Primbetov, born in Kazakhstan in 2013, played the match of his life at a tournament in Astana last year. The young boy lost to former child prodigy and world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. Reflecting on his country’s chess accomplishments, Timur Turlov, president of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, said the federation organized 92 tournaments in 2024, a threefold increase compared to the previous year. Chess players from Kazakhstan won 160 medals, including 55 gold, in 2024, Turlov said in a January post on the Medium platform. “Chess plays...

Sports

Turkmenistan’s Arkadag Footballers Left Without Prize Money Despite AFC Victory

The recent triumph of Turkmenistan’s Arkadag football club in the AFC Challenge League, one of Asia’s most prestigious club competitions, has stirred controversy beyond the pitch. While the victory was widely celebrated, players were left without significant financial rewards, as over $1 million in prize money was donated to charity, prompting mixed reactions among fans and observers. The team was honored with a hero’s welcome in the newly constructed city of Arkadag, complete with fireworks and a celebratory parade. However, expectations of substantial bonuses went unmet. Each player received a symbolic $1,000 from President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, a modest sum compared to their tournament earnings. The total prize purse for winning the competition and reaching the final reportedly exceeded $1.5 million. According to official statements, the athletes themselves requested that the funds be donated to the Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Charitable Foundation for Children. Despite their international success, the players reportedly earn official salaries of no more than $120 per month. Turkmen football remains largely cut off from global sporting networks, with few foreign players, limited match broadcasts, and minimal competitive depth in domestic leagues. Arkadag’s main rivals frequently field incomplete squads, diminishing the overall level of competition. Sports analysts and development experts warn that the lack of meaningful financial incentives could erode player morale and hinder the growth of football in Turkmenistan. They argue that while charitable contributions are commendable, sustained investment in athletes is essential to build a competitive and inspiring national sports culture.

Sports

Two Participants Die During Half Marathon in Almaty

Two runners, one elderly and the other young, died during a half marathon in Almaty, Kazakhstan on Sunday, according to organizers. The participants were identified as 84-year-old Akkoyan Rsaliyev, who has regularly taken part in races since 2021, and 21-year-old Nurbol Ahmadi, who had participated in a 10-kilometer race and had registered for several long-distance events, including a marathon in Almaty. Rsaliyev suddenly felt bad in the first kilometer of the 21.1-kilometer run and responders in an ambulance that drove up to him found no pulse, the marathon organizers said in a statement. They quoted Dr. Alibek Khozhanazarov as saying an initial diagnosis was that the runner had a pulmonary embolism and had been suffering from chronic arterial hypertension. Then Ahmadi lost consciousness at the 16-kilometer mark and doctors arriving at the scene tried in vain to resuscitate him. The preliminary diagnosis was a pulmonary embolism and acute heart failure, according to Dr. Aigerim Yesdauletova. The Courage to Be the First corporate foundation, which supported the race, expressed its condolences to the families and friends of the runners who died. The organizers said they “acted according to the regulations: medical services, emergency services and the police worked quickly and in a timely manner. Despite the measures taken, it was not possible to save the lives of the participants.”

Sports

Kazakhstan Bans Use of Public Funds to Pay Foreign Athletes

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a new law prohibiting the use of state budget funds and funds from the quasi-governmental sector, to finance the participation of foreign athletes in Kazakh sports clubs. Under the legislation, foreign “legionnaires” may now only be contracted using money from private sponsors. The move aims to refocus state support on domestic talent in professional sports. According to the presidential administration, athletes holding Kazakhstani passports who compete at elite levels, including in Olympic, Paralympic, Deaflympic, Asian, and national sports, will remain eligible for public funding. Funding Priorities and Implementation “The priority sports will be defined based on achievements on the international stage,” Akorda stated. These will include sports featured in the programs of major multi-sport events, along with traditional national disciplines. Budget allocations will also continue for state-run physical culture and sports organizations, grassroots sports initiatives, and the development of sports infrastructure. The final list of high-performance priority sports, along with detailed budget allocation procedures, will be finalized by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. In addition to the funding changes, the new law introduces unified standards for athlete training and outlines measures to promote traditional values and patriotic education. A new concept, “national standards of sports training”, has been formally introduced into legislation. Financial Impact and Transition Period Deputy Minister of Tourism and Sports Serik Zharasbayev previously estimated that Kazakhstan allocates around 400 billion tenge (approximately $797 million) annually to high-performance sports through national and regional budgets. Currently, football and hockey clubs can receive up to 1.2 billion KZT ($2.4 million) per year, while basketball and volleyball clubs are limited to 450 million KZT ($897,000). The new rules, however, will not affect existing contracts, as Kazakh law is not retroactive. Nevertheless, authorities have advised clubs across all sports not to sign new agreements with foreign athletes in 2025. Potential Legal Challenges Observers note that the restrictions may conflict with Kazakhstan’s obligations under the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Treaty, which guarantees the free movement of labor among member states. The move could impact the future participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes, in particular, in Kazakhstan’s domestic leagues. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, legal interpretations of the EAEU Treaty’s provisions may play a decisive role in how these new restrictions are implemented in practice.