First edition in Uzbekistan. November 23 - December 1, 2018. The Central Asian Football Association was formed in 2015. Five participants: Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Iran Only CAFA member not participating is Turkmenistan.
All the teams of the Association end in -an. All but one (Iran) end in -stan. Although, to have to full -stan association, they not only miss Turkmenistan at this round, but also Kazakhstan, Pakistan and maybe some part of other countries, as Hindustan. (I know, I know: sounds like usual @WWC_Movement's posts )
That's not very interestan But this is a brand new championship, never before in human history has anyone determined a champion of CAFA... which was founded in 2014. They've held junior championships before, but this is the first senior-level national cup. Apparently last month they scheduled a men's one, but it's been postponed. From the rankings, the hosts Uzbekistan are one of the favourites, along with Iran – respectively they're 41st and 58th in the FIFA list. Before CAFA existed, Iran were 3 times runners-up in the WAFF (West Asia) women's championship, and Afghanistan competed in SAFF (South Asia). The other countries weren't in either grouping, but CAFA was formed mainly because of Iran and their dispute with WAFF. The venue, Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (Farsizabon, cc-by-sa)
On the tweeter.. not sure why "NATIONAL" is in scare quotes First match is on now. Games streaming here - https://mycujoo.tv/competitions/1489 - but filmed from very high up. Possibly a drone.
Uh no, there's another reason https://www.sportskeeda.com/footbal...fter-refusal-to-sign-contract-that-denies-pay (Archived) On top of the other problems they've had in the past.
Whoops! Sorry for my previous remark! I had even read the news about Mobarez and new contracts, but I had totally forgot about it!
In getting the win over Iran, Uzbek has all but won the competition already - on matchday 3! I'd have to go look, but I'm wondering if UZB 20-0 AFG is one of the biggest wins in FIFA WoSo history. On the men's side, there was AUS 31-0 SAM, but the three biggest wins before that match were all near the 20-0 range (Iran 19-0 Guam, Kuwait 20-0 Bhutan, and Australia 22-0 Tonga two days before the American Samoa beatdown.) Unsurprising to see AFG beat so badly, though, even not considering the current player issues. Their FIFA rating (not ranking) is in the upper 800's, while no other team in the tournament is below 1000pts.
Curious as to why this tournament isn't included in FIFA's fixtures? Are they not playing with their NTs? U-20 teams? It'll affect the rankings next week if they're not included.
FIFA's website isn't always the best, especially when it comes to WoSo. Since there hasn't been anything to suggest otherwise, I would think these are official games. That said, if these results aren't factored into the rankings release next week, then I'd guess it's because this competition is new enough that proper paperwork hasn't happened yet.
There's more about that in the other thread: Women's football in the Middle East + mid-Asia - https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/womens-football-in-the-middle-east-mid-asia.2085832/#post-37312740
Well, here's our answer: Uzbekistan have dropped out of the FIFA rankings entirely due to "inactivity"! https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/news/draw-pots-confirmed-by-latest-women-s-ranking Well that's even shittier than expected.
The CAFA likely didn't submit the proper paperwork to make the tournament eligible. Uzbekistan and the other four nations should be upset.