The Russian national football team is preparing for the CAFA international tournament

The long and painful period when the Russian national football team was left without official matches and was forced to play only friendly matches can be considered completed. Already in June 2023, our national team will take part in the international tournament. For the first time since February 2022.

The Russian team has received an invitation from the organizers of the first-ever Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) championship to play in the competition, which will be held from June 9 to 21.

The Russian Football Union confirmed receipt of an invitation from the organizers of the tournament, but has not yet confirmed that the Russian team will go to it. This may be due to the fact that the timing of the competition overlaps with the date of the Russian Cup final, which will be held in Luzhniki on June 11.

The press secretary of the Football Federation of Tajikistan, Faridun Saliev, told Match TV that the organizers had already received confirmation of participation from all the national teams included in CAFA: Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Iran.

A total of 8 teams will take part in the tournament. In addition to Russia, the Thai team also received an invitation. If Thailand refuses, China could become the eighth team.

According to the plans of the organizers, following the results of the draw, eight teams will be divided into two groups, four in each, where the matches will be held in a round robin system in one round. Then the winners of the groups will meet in the final. Teams that take second place in their quartets will compete for third place.

“The tournament will take place during the June FIFA windows. The points will go to the FIFA rankings. Of course, the tournament has been coordinated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC),” the Football Federation of Tajikistan told TASS.

View from that side

The possible participation of the Russian national team in his telegram channel was commented by the Uzbek sports journalist, ex-employee of the Football Federation of Uzbekistan and an employee of the organizing committee of the 2022 World Cup Alisher Nikimbaev.

“The European disqualification of the Russian team turned out to be in favor of the Central Asian Football Association. For the first time since the official formation of the regional federation in 2015, the CAFA championship will be held. Actually, the championship itself was brewing even without the participation of the Russian team, but its appearance will give the tournament a status and add commercial value.

It is no secret that Russian television companies are able to pay much more for the rights to broadcast matches than the companies of the Central Asian countries. Obviously, the participation of the Russian team will attract the attention of sponsors from Russia to the tournament. So the idea that the CAFA leadership has been nurturing for several years is receiving additional support,” Nikimbaev wrote, additionally providing details of the tournament: “Teams will be divided into two groups. One will play in Bishkek, the other in Tashkent. Naturally, the national teams of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan will not play each other at the group stage. The matches will take place on 11, 14 and 17 June. Group winners will play in the final. Teams that take second place in the groups will compete for third place. Both matches will be held in Tashkent on June 20, 2023.”

The specialist also explained in detail the peculiarities of offsetting championship matches in the FIFA rankings.

“This is a common practice for all friendly matches organized in accordance with FIFA regulations. As, for example, the matches of the Russian national team with Iran and Iraq. There is only a slight difference in the calculation of these points. Official matches have odds of 15 (Nations League matches) and higher: quarter-finals, semi-finals and World Cup finals are worth 60. Friendly matches have odds of 10 if played on FIFA days, and half as much if played on other days.

For example, this June FIFA Days start on June 12 and end on June 20. That is, the results of the matches of the first round of the CAFA championship, tentatively scheduled for June 11, will go to the FIFA rating, but at a “price” half as much as the results of the matches of the second and third rounds, as well as the final and the match for third place.

Half measures

The invitation of the Russian team to the first CAFA championship does not mean that the restrictions on the participation of the Russian team in international tournaments have been finally lifted. Representatives of the football federations of several European countries have officially announced that they will not play against the Russian team, even if UEFA returns our national team to their tournaments. At the same time, the football authorities of the AFC countries did not make such statements. In December last year, at a meeting of the executive committee of the Russian Football Union, it was decided to create a working group that will work on the issue of a possible transition of the RFU to the Asian Confederation.

In late January – early February, the 33rd Congress of the AFC was held in Bahrain, where the president of the RFU, Alexander Dyukov, was invited. He discussed with representatives of the Asian football associations the issue of the transfer of the RFU to the AFC.

Commenting on the results of the preliminary consultations, the head of the football department of Saudi Arabia, Yasser Almishal, said that the possibility of Russia’s transition to the AFC will appear only after a thorough study of the consequences of such a decision. On the other hand, Ravshan Irmatov, vice-president of the Football Association of Uzbekistan, was more optimistic: “I have always believed that politics should not be mixed with sports. This is football. We are sports people, this is not politics. If the AFC executive committee decides that Russia can join, then why not?”

The Executive Committee has not yet decided, negotiations and consultations are ongoing. Our participation in the CAFA tournament will be a trial step.

Not only the team

As you know, appetite comes with eating. There are already reports that CAFA may have a club tournament for teams that take 3rd-5th places in the national championships of the countries that are members of the association. Clubs of the Russian Premier League can also be invited to participate in it. This was announced to Match TV by Alisher Aminov, a former member of the RFU executive committee, who developed a development program for the Football Federation of Tajikistan from 2023 to 2028.

“I think the matter will not be limited to a tournament at the level of national teams. In the program for the development of football in Tajikistan, I have prescribed club competitions at the CAFA level. In such a tournament, the participation of the champions of their countries is not necessary, after all, almost everyone will be involved in the Asian Champions League one way or another. But I think there are good prospects for organizing competitions between the teams that took 3rd-5th places in their championships and attracting clubs from the RPL. I am sure that such a tournament will arouse interest, especially in the regions. At the level of the national federation of Tajikistan, such negotiations are already underway,” Aminov said.

If this is true, then we can also be happy for our clubs. Because after the imposition of sanctions by FIFA and UEFA, they were left without any international competition at all, unlike the national team, which plays at least friendly matches.

He also commented on the possible participation of the Russian team in the CAFA tournament.

“After Alexander Dyukov’s trip to Bahrain for the AFC Congress, there are no serious steps to bring Russia and Asian football closer together. It is clear that Russia has no prospects at all in UEFA in the next five years. I think such a tournament will be a big step towards the integration of the RFU into Asia. The games in Bishkek, Dushanbe and Tashkent showed that the local teams are a real competitor to the Russians,” Aminov said.

What is CAFA?

Actually, not CAFA, but FACA, it is this abbreviation that is obtained when abbreviated – the Football Association of Central Asia. Created on the initiative of Iran on June 10, 2014, it officially began to function on January 9, 2015. It unites the football federations of Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and is one of the five regional associations of the AFC.

The current president is Rustam Emomali, a Tajik statesman and politician, sports functionary. The headquarters is located in the capital of Tajikistan, Dushanbe.