The Turkmenistan U-17 team will take part in the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Championship, which will be held from May 24 to 31 in the capital of Uzbekistan.

The tournament will bring together six teams from the region: Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. According to the results of the draw, the Turkmen team got into Group B, where it will play with the national teams of Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

At the group stage, the teams will play matches in a round-robin system. The winners of the groups will reach the final, and the runners-up will play for bronze. There will also be a game for fifth place. All matches will be held at the Dustlik stadium in Tashkent.

Turkmenistan U-17 team match schedule:

• May 24, 17:30 – Turkmenistan – Afghanistan
• May 26, 20:30 – Tajikistan – Turkmenistan

The second module of the coaching courses for category "C" certificate applicants is underway in Ashgabat, the Football Federation of Turkmenistan reports.

The training is taking place at the capital's Kopetdag stadium with the participation of 20 students. The first module of the courses was held from April 25 to 29, the second is being held from May 19 to 23 of this year.

The classes are conducted by FIFA and the Football Federation of Turkmenistan (FFT) instructor Rovshen Meredov, and his assistants are football coaches Boris Borovik, Begench Garayev and Eziz Annamukhamedov.

The training program includes theoretical and practical classes. Upon completion of the courses, students will have to pass exams, the successful completion of which will allow them to receive category "C" coaching certificates. A certificate of this category gives the right to work with children's teams in the age group from 6 to 12 years.

Four wins, one loss, and second place – this is the result of the Turkmenistan national hockey team at the recently held World Championship in Turkiye, in Division III Group A – the sixth tier of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.

The fight for the only promotion spot to the higher Division II Group B at the “Zeytinburnu” Arena in Istanbul involved the national teams of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Kyrgyzstan, Turkiye, South Africa, and Turkmenistan.

The Turkmen hockey players started the tournament successfully. In the first round, they defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 3:1 (1:1, 0:0, 2:0); in the second, they sensationally beat the hosts, Turkiye, 2:1 (1:1, 1:0, 0:0); and in the third, they inflicted a heavy defeat on Luxembourg 8:3 (1:1, 0:1, 7:1).

The fate of first place, contested by Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Turkiye, was decided in the last two rounds. In the penultimate round, our compatriots faced Kyrgyzstan, who had also achieved three victories, successively defeating South Africa 5:2 (2:1, 2:0, 1:1), Luxembourg 6:0 (0:0, 3:0, 3:0), and Bosnia and Herzegovina 5:1 (2:0, 1:0, 2:1).

Last year, the national teams of Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan already played each other at the World Championship in Bishkek. Then, the Kyrgyz team celebrated victory – 7:5 (2:1, 2:2, 3:2).

The second head-to-head encounter was also tough for the Turkmen hockey players, with Kyrgyzstan again prevailing – 8:1 (4:0, 3:1, 1:0). Pavel Barkovsky scored the only goal for Turkmenistan at a score of 0:6 in the 35th minute.

In the final round, our hockey players met the team from South Africa, whom they had already played three times at World Championships. In two matches, Turkmenistan had celebrated victory – 7:2 at the 2019 World Championship in Sofia and 4:3 at the 2024 World Championship in Bishkek. Only at the 2023 World Championship in Cape Town did South Africa succeed – 4:3.

The fourth head-to-head match with South Africa was a serious test for the Turkmen hockey players, who were losing 2:5 by the third period but managed to turn the game around, tying the score a second before the final siren and scoring the winning goal in overtime – 6:5. For Turkmenistan, double goals were scored by Baymyrat Baymyradov (1st and 14th minutes) and team captain Amangeldi Aganiyazov (44th and 60th). In regular time, Pavel Barkovsky (44th) also scored, and the winning overtime goal was credited to Kerven Bayliyev (62nd).

In the last match of the tournament, Kyrgyzstan narrowly defeated Turkiye 3:1 (1:0, 1:1, 1:0) and, taking first place with 15 points, achieved promotion – for the first time earning the right to play in Division II Group B at the 2026 World Championship.

Second place with 11 points went to the Turkmen hockey players, who received silver medals at the awards ceremony. The bronze for third place with 9 points went to the Turkish team. Notably, this team had been led for more than three years by Slovenian specialist Andrej Brodnik, who was dismissed after losses to Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.

The Luxembourg team, finishing last with 3 points, was relegated to Division III Group B. Next year, they will be replaced in Division III Group A by the Mexican team, which won the recently concluded 2025 Division III Group B World Championship at home in Santiago de Querétaro, defeating Hong Kong 5:2, the Philippines 9:1, Singapore 18:1, Mongolia 7:6, and North Korea 9:2.

Last year, Turkmenistan finished 4th at the World Championship in Bishkek in Division III Group A. Now, our hockey team has climbed two steps higher. This achievement was led by head coach Ilyas Veliev, assisted by Guvanch Jepbarov.

Let us recall that 19 hockey players represented Turkmenistan at the World Championship in Istanbul: 12 from the “Galkan” club of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 5 from “Shir” of the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations, and one each from “Oguzhan” of the Turkmengaz State Concern and “Alp Arslan” of the Turkmenaragatnashyk Agency.

Athletes from Turkmenistan joined the 1st Open Central Asian Swimming Championship, which started on May 19 in Uzbekistan. According to the website uza.uz, the competition was organized jointly by the Water Sports Federation and the Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan.

As part of the championship, representatives of five countries in the region - Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan - will compete in various swimming disciplines and distances for 158 sets of medals.

A total of 168 athletes from Central Asian countries are taking part in the competition, which will last until May 23. The championship is an important event for the development of water sports in the region and strengthening sports ties between the participating countries.

On May 16, a friendly football match between the Legends and Diplomats teams took place at the Molodaya Gvardiya sports and recreation camp as part of the Russia – Islamic World international forum (KazanForum). The match ended with a score of 7:4 in favor of the Legends team, the Rubin FC website reports. The Legends team included former Rubin FC players of different years, including Sergey Ryzhikov, Gokdeniz Karadeniz, Macbeth Sibaya, Alexander Bukharov, Andrey Fedorov, Rustem Khuzin, Andrey Knyazev, Evgeny Balyaikin, Dmitry Blagov and Ildar Minvaleev. They were also joined by the President of the Board of ANO FC Rubin Marat Safiullin, former players of the Russian national team and RFU ambassadors Alexander Mostovoy and Ruslan Nigmatullin, as well as bloggers from Egypt and Malaysia - Ahmed El Badawi and Chi Howe.

The Diplomats team was represented by employees of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with colleagues from various member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), including representatives of Bahrain, Belarus, Guinea-Bissau, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Iran, Morocco, Oman and Turkmenistan.

The match took place in a friendly atmosphere and became one of the cultural and sports events organized within the framework of KazanForum.

A team of referees headed by B. Atdyev from the city of Arkadag has been appointed for the match of the 11th round of the Turkmenistan Football Championship between Ashgabat's Altyn Asyr and Ahal from Anau, the website of the Football Federation of Turkmenistan (FFT) reports.

Atdyev will be assisted by assistants I. Kurambayev (Dashoguz), M. Shanazarov (Mary). Reserve referee A. Begnazarov (Mary), match inspector - Azat Hadjipolatov (Balkanabad).

The match between Altyn Asyr and Ahal will be held in the Byuzmeyin etrap of Ashgabat on May 18 and will begin at 17:45 local time.

Other appointments for the 11th round of the Turkmenistan Championship:

May 17, Saturday

Ashgabat vs. Kopetdag – 17:30, Nisa Stadium, referee – E. Annamuradov

Shagadam vs. Arkadag – 17:00, Shagadam Stadium, referee – S. Gurbanov

Merv vs. Nebitchi – 18:00, Merv Stadium, referee – Resul Mamedov

Barcelona became the new Spanish football champions, securing the title with two rounds left in the season after beating Espanyol 2-0 in the 36th round of La Liga.

The decisive match, held on the opponent's field, ended in a confident victory for the blue-garnets. The score was opened in the 53rd minute, when Barcelona's young winger Lamine Yamal made a magnificent strike into the top corner of the goal, leaving the home team's goalkeeper with no chance.

Espanyol's situation became more complicated in the 80th minute of the match, when the team's defender Leandro Cabrera received a direct red card for a gross violation, leaving his team with a man down.

The final result was set in stoppage time of the second half. Lamin Yamal, who had already scored a goal, played the role of an assistant, passing the assist to Fermin Lopez, who put the finishing touches on the match by scoring the second goal into the opponents' net.

Thanks to this victory, the team led by Hansi Flick scored 85 points in the standings and became unattainable for the closest pursuer - Real Madrid. This championship title was the 28th for Barcelona in the club's history.

Turkmen athlete Davranbek Hasanbayev won a gold medal in the snatch at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in China. The Turkmen athlete achieved this success in the 102 kg weight category.

In the snatch, Davranbek held a barbell weighing 182 kg over his head. In the clean and jerk, he lifted a barbell weighing 195 kg. In the combined event, Hasanbayev took third place with a result of 377 kg.

On May 11-12, the 45th General Assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) was held at a high organizational level in Kuwait. The event was attended by the current President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, the newly elected President Kirsty Coventry, the heads of the International Olympic Committee, the heads of the Association of National Olympic Committees, the presidents of the Asian federations, as well as the Secretary General of the Olympic Committee of Turkmenistan A. Akmammedov and representatives of the National Olympic Committees of 45 Asian countries, according to the website of the Olympic Committee of Turkmenistan.

Vice-President of the Olympic Council of Asia Mr. Timothy Fok and Director General Hussein Al Musallam paid special attention to the development of the Olympic movement in Asia in their speeches. They noted the importance of the organization's work to improve the level of sports, train young people, ensure gender equality and sustainable management.

The President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa congratulated the Arkadag football club on winning the first title of the AFC Challenge League. This was reported by the publication "Turkmenistan: Golden Age" with reference to the press service of the AFC.

The Turkmen club defeated the current champion of Cambodia "Svay Rieng" with a score of 2:1 in extra time in the final match. The match was held at the stadium in Phnom Penh in the presence of 51,600 spectators.

The goals for the winners were scored by Mekan Saparov (59th minute) and Altymurad Annadurdyev (112th minute). Sareth Kria scored for the hosts (82nd minute).

"On behalf of the Asian Football Family, I congratulate FC Arkadag from Turkmenistan on their historic victory in the AFC Challenge League. “The Football Federations of Turkmenistan and Cambodia deserve special praise for creating a dynamic environment for their clubs to thrive on the continental stage,” the AFC press service quotes Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa as saying.

The current two-time champion of Turkmenistan, Arkadag, achieved success despite the fact that many experts preferred the Cambodian team, which includes many Brazilian legionnaires. In addition, the match was held at the home stadium of Svay Rieng.

The AFC President also expressed gratitude to the 18 participating clubs and federations for their contribution to the successful holding of the first AFC Challenge League and noted the work of the organizers of the centralized group stage.

“This new historical chapter could not have been written without the support of all participants. I express my gratitude to the organizers of the group stages and everyone who worked behind the scenes for their contribution to the holding of the first season of the AFC Challenge League,” the head of the Asian Football Confederation emphasized.

The victory of the Arkadag football club in the AFC Challenge League final allowed Turkmenistan to increase its representation in the next season of Asian club tournaments to three teams.

Arkadag received a direct ticket to the group stage of the second AFC Champions League. Ahal will begin its performance with the playoff round of the second Champions League - in case of victory, the club will advance to the group stage of the tournament, and in case of defeat, it will continue to play in the Challenge League. Altyn Asyr guaranteed itself a place in the group stage of the AFC Challenge League.

Recall that in the final match of the AFC Challenge League, Arkadag defeated the Cambodian club Svay Rieng with a score of 2:1 in extra time. The goals for the Turkmen team were scored by Mekan Saparov in the 59th minute and Altymurat Annadurdyev in the 112th minute.

Following the final match, two representatives of Arkadag were awarded individual prizes. Altymurat Annadurdyev, who scored the decisive goal, became the tournament's top scorer with five goals scored. Shanazar Tirkishov was recognized as the most valuable player of the final match.

President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed an order to award cash prizes to coaches and athletes of the Arkadag football club of the Arkadag city administration, TDH reports.

As stated in the document, the award was given "considering the great contribution to bringing Turkmen sports to a high level, successful performance in the Turkmenistan Premier League, and victory in the AFC Challenge League final."

Recall that in the decisive match of the tournament, Vladimir Bayramov's team defeated the Cambodian club Svay Rieng with a score of 2:1 in extra time. The goals for the Turkmen team were scored by Mekan Saparov (59th minute) and Altymurat Annadurdyev (112th minute).

The official ceremony honoring the winners took place on Monday in the city of Arkadag on the square next to the stadium.