DUSHANBE, 02.05.2023 (NIAT Khovar) – The Eighth Congress of the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA), where the President of the Football Federation of Tajikistan Rustam Emomali was re-elected as the CAFA President for a new four-year term, was held on May 2 in Dushanbe.

Following his re-election, Rustam Emomali thanked the leaders of the football federations of the countries that are part of CAFA for their trust, and stated that the further development of football in the region would continue through joint efforts.

Also, the President of the Football Federation of Afghanistan Mohammad Yusuf Korgar and the President of the Football Federation of Turkmenistan Arslan Ainazarov were elected as the CAFA Vice-Presidents.

The Secretary General of the Iranian Football Federation Hedayat Mombeni joined the new CAFA Executive Committee, and the Vice-President of the Kyrgyz Football Union Dastanbek Konokbaev became a member of the AFC Executive Committee representing CAFA.

The Congress was attended by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, AFC President Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, leaders and delegates of the Football Federations of Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as representatives of FIFA and the AFC.

In their speech, FIFA President Infantino and AFC President Al-Khalifa congratulated Rustam Emomali on his re-election as the CAFA President and wished him success in developing football in the region.

The heads of world and Asian football praised the work of CAFA, which during the global pandemic held dozens of competitions for the national teams of the Central Asian region. They have become an important stage in the preparation of teams for the Asian and world championships.