Tournament details | |
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Host country | ![]() ![]() |
Dates | Qualifying round: TBD 2026 Group stage: TBD 2026 |
Teams | Competition proper: 8 (from 6 associations) |
The 2026 CAFA Silk Way Cup is the inaugural edition of Central Asia's premier club football tournament, organized by the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA). It will be the first club competition organized by regional associations since its establishment in 2015. [2] [3] It was originally planned to take place in March-April 2025. Later on 9 March 2025, it was announced that the competition had been postponed due to insufficient sponsorship, with the possibility of rescheduling for 2026. [4]
The slot allocation for the tournament is based on the performance of each association's top club in international Asian competitions. Iran and Uzbekistan, whose top clubs qualified directly for the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite and 2025–26 AFC Champions League Two, were each granted one slot. Meanwhile, the remaining four associations received two slots each. [5]
Member association | slots | |
---|---|---|
Group stage | Qualifying round | |
![]() | 1 | 0 |
![]() | 1 | 0 |
![]() | 1 | 1 |
![]() | 1 | 1 |
![]() | 1 | 1 |
![]() | 1 | 1 |
Participating associations: 6 | 6 | 4 |
10 |
Eligibility for the tournament is limited to clubs that finished among the top teams in their respective national leagues or won their domestic cups in the previous season excluding the ones that are participating in Asian competition during the 2025–26 season.
Team | Association | Qualifying method | App. |
---|---|---|---|
Attack Energy | ![]() | 2025–26 Afghanistan Champions League champion | 1st |
Nassaji Mazandaran | ![]() | 2025–26 Persian Gulf Pro League third place | 1st |
Muras United | ![]() | 2025 Kyrgyz Premier League runners-up | 1st |
Khujand | ![]() | 2025 Tajikistan Higher League third place | 1st |
Şagadam | ![]() | 2025 Ýokary Liga third place | 1st |
Qizilqum | ![]() | 2025 Uzbekistan Super League third place | 1st |
Team | Association | Qualifying method | App. |
---|---|---|---|
Abu Muslim | ![]() | 2025–26 Afghanistan Champions League runners-up | 1st |
Asiagoal Bishkek | ![]() | 2025 Kyrgyz Premier League third place | 1st |
Ravshan Kulob | ![]() | 2025 Tajikistan Higher League fourth place | 1st |
Arkadag | ![]() | 2025 Ýokary Liga fourth place | 1st |
Four teams from four member associations will compete for two of the eight berths in the competition proper. The qualifying round is scheduled to take place in 2026.
In the main tournament, the eight participating clubs will be split into two groups of four. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals.
The tournament will take place in March-April in two countries, presumably Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.