2024 CAFA U-20 Championship

CAFA U-20 Championship 2024

Tournament details
Host country	Kyrgyzstan
Dates	5–12 July
Teams	6 (from 1 sub-confederation)
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions	Iran (1st title)
Runners-up	Kyrgyz Republic[1]
Third place	Uzbekistan
Fourth place	Tajikistan
Tournament statistics
Matches played	9
Goals scored	23 (2.56 per match)
Attendance	10,351 (1,150 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Reza Ghandipour (4 goals)
Best player(s)	Amirmohammad Razaghinia
Best goalkeeper	Arsha Shakouri
Fair play award	Turkmenistan
← 2023 TBD →

The 2024 CAFA U-20 Championship was the 2nd edition of the CAFA U-20 Championship, the international youth football championship organised by Central Asian Football Association for the men's under-20 national teams of Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan hosted the tournament from 5 to 12 July 2024.[2] A total of six teams played in the tournament, with players born on or after 1 January 2004 eligible to participate. It was the first CAFA tournament to implement video assistant referees (VAR).[3]

Uzbekistan were the defending champions having won the inaugural edition.[4] However, their inability to defeat Iran in the group stage resulted in them playing in the third-place playoff which they won. Meanwhile, Iran clinched their first title by defeating host the Kyrgyz Republic 3–0 in the final.[5][6][7]

Participation

Participating teams

All six CAFA member associations entered teams for the final tournament.[8][9] with Kyrgyzstan debuting in the competition.[10]

Team	Appearance	Last appearance	Previous best performance
Afghanistan	2nd	2023 (Fourth place)	Fourth place (2023)
Iran	2nd	2023 (Runners-up)	Runners-up (2023)
Kyrgyz Republic	1st	Debut
Tajikistan	2nd	2023 (Third place)	Third place (2023)
Turkmenistan	2nd	2023 (Fifth place)	Fifth place (2023)
Uzbekistan	2nd	2023 (Champions)	Champions (2023)

Squads

Main article: 2024 CAFA U-20 Championship squads

Players born on or after 1 January 2005 and on or before 31 December 2007 were eligible to compete in the tournament.

Seeding

The 6 teams were drawn into two groups of three teams, with seeding based on their performance at the previous edition. Seeding was shown in parentheses except the team who previously did not participate, which were denoted by (–).[11]

The host Kyrgyz Republic automatically seeded to Pot 1 and placed into the first position of Group A.

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3
Kyrgyzstan (–) (hosts)  Uzbekistan (1)	Iran (2)  Tajikistan (3)	Afghanistan (4)  Turkmenistan (5)

Draw

The draw took place at 12:00 TJT (UTC+5) on 25 June 2024 and was live-streamed on the Central Asian Football Association's YouTube channel.[11]

The draw resulted in the following groups:[12]

Group A Pos Team A1  Kyrgyz Republic A2  Tajikistan A3  Afghanistan

Group B Pos Team B1  Uzbekistan B2  Iran B3  Turkmenistan

Venues

All matches were played at the following venue:

Jalal-Abad	Jalal-Abad
	Kurmanbek Stadium
	Capacity: 5,000

Match officials

The following officials were appointed for the tournament:

Referees

• Payam Heidari
• Mahsa Ghobrani
• Veronika Bernatskaia
• Mederbek Taichiev
• Nasrullo Kabirov
• Sadullo Gulmurodi
• Resul Mämmedow
• Firdavs Norsafarov
• Rustam Lutfullin

Assistant referees

• Nangyali Sadat
• Farhad Moravveji
• Sergei Grishchenko
• Akmal Buriev
• Palwan Palwanow
• Bakhtiyorkhuja Shavkatov

Group stage

The match schedule was released on June 25th, after the draw was conducted.[13]

All times are local KGT (UTC+6).

Tiebreakers

Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:

1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
4. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
5. Goal difference in all group matches;
6. Goals scored in all group matches;
7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams were tied and they met in the last round of the group;
8. Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
9. Drawing of lots.

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Kyrgyz Republic (H)	2	1	1	0	4	0	+4	4	Final
2	Tajikistan	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	4	Third place play-off
3	Afghanistan	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5	0	Fifth place play-off

Source: CAFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

5 July 2024 (2024-07-05)

22:00

Afghanistan	0–4	Kyrgyz Republic
	Report (KFU) Report (CAFA)	Madaminov 9' Madanov 60' Emilbekov 76' Abdirasulov 86'

Kurmanbek Stadium, Jalal-Abad

Attendance: 1,952

Referee: Resul Mämmedow (Turkmenistan)

---

7 July 2024 (2024-07-07)

17:30

Tajikistan	1–0	Afghanistan
Daliev 43'	Report (FFT) Report (CAFA)

Kurmanbek Stadium, Jalal-Abad

Attendance: 176

Referee: Mahsa Ghorbani (Iran)

---

9 July 2024 (2024-07-09)

22:00

Kyrgyz Republic	0–0	Tajikistan
	Report (KFU) Report (FFT) Report (CAFA)

Kurmanbek Stadium, Jalal-Abad

Attendance: 2,832

Referee: Firdavs Norsafarov (Uzbekistan)

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Iran	2	1	1	0	4	1	+3	4	Final
2	Uzbekistan	2	1	1	0	4	3	+1	4	Third place play-off
3	Turkmenistan	2	0	0	2	2	6	−4	0	Fifth place play-off

Source: CAFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

5 July 2024 (2024-07-05)

17:30

Turkmenistan	2–3	Uzbekistan
Esenow 15' Berenow 90' (pen.)	Report (CAFA)	Usmonov 65' Makhamatov 75' (pen.) Abdullaev 90+4'

Kurmanbek Stadium, Jalal-Abad

Attendance: 957

Referee: Mederbek Taichiev (Kyrgyzstan)

---

7 July 2024 (2024-07-07)

22:00

Iran	3–0	Turkmenistan
Ghandipour 7' Homaeifard 28' Mazraeh 73'	Report (FFIRI) Report (CAFA)

Kurmanbek Stadium, Jalal-Abad

Attendance: 225

Referee: Veronika Bernatskaia (Kyrgyzstan)

---

9 July 2024 (2024-07-09)

17:30

Uzbekistan	1–1	Iran
Rejabaliev 78' (pen.)	Report (UFA) Report (FFIRI) Report (CAFA)	Hassani 68'

Kurmanbek Stadium, Jalal-Abad

Attendance: 236

Referee: Sadullo Gulmurodi (Tajikistan)

Play-off stage

Fifth place play-off

11 July 2024 (2024-07-11)

20:00

Afghanistan	1–1	Turkmenistan
Rahimi 76' (pen.)	Report (FFIRI) Report (CAFA)	Garajaýew 72'
Penalties
Shah Raofi Abdullaye Rajabi Moghaddam Rahimi Hamidi Seyedi Rahmani Ali Zada Alokozai	8–7	Annamyradow Agajumaýew Kambarow Sarkisýan Berenow Bekmyradow Orazow Garajaýew Nepesow Zülfakar

Kurmanbek Stadium, Jalal-Abad

Attendance: 87

Referee: Nasrullo Kabirov (Tajikistan)

Third place play-off

12 July 2024 (2024-07-12)

17:00

Uzbekistan	3–0	Tajikistan
Abdullaev 3' Shukurullaev 53' Shodiboev 61'	Report (CAFA)

Kurmanbek Stadium, Jalal-Abad

Attendance: 74

Referee: Payam Heidari (Iran)

Final

12 July 2024 (2024-07-12)

22:00

Kyrgyz Republic	0–3	Iran
	Report (FFIRI) Report (CAFA)	Ghandipour 45+7' (pen.), 49', 58'

Kurmanbek Stadium, Jalal-Abad

Attendance: 3,812

Referee: Rustam Lutfullin (Uzbekistan)

Goalscorers

There were 23 goals scored in 9 matches, for an average of 2.56 goals per match.

4 goals

• Reza Ghandipour

2 goals

• Bekhruz Abdullaev

1 goal

• Ali Reza Rahimi
• Ali Hassani
• Alireza Homaeifard
• Yousef Mazraeh
• Kairat Abdirasulov
• Argen Emilbekov
• Umar Madaminov
• Yryskeldi Madanov
• Azizbek Daliev
• Magtymberdi Berenow
• Gurbanmuhammet Esenow
• Gurbangeldi Garajaýew
• Abdushukur Makhamatov
• Meyirbek Rejabaliev
• Shodiyor Shodiboev
• Bekhruz Shukurullaev
• Murodali Usmonov

Source: CAFA

Awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:[14]

Top Goalscorer	Best goalkeeper	Best player	Fair play
Reza Ghandipour	Arsha Shakouri[15]	Amirmohammad Razaghinia	Turkmenistan

References

1. "Турнир CAFA в Джалал-Абаде. Сборная Кыргызстана по футболу заняла второе место" [The CAFA tournament in Jalal-Abad. The Kyrgyzstan national football team took second place.]. 24.kg (in Russian). 13 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
2. "В Кыргызстане Впервые Будет Использована Система Видеопомощи Арбитрам (Var)" [In Kyrgyzstan, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system will be used for the first time.]. kfu.kg (in Russian). Kyrgyz Football Union. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
3. "Kyrgyzstan to host first-ever football tournament using Video Assisted Refereeing system". akipress.com. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
4. "Молодёжная сборная Узбекистана U-20 выступит на чемпионате CAFA в Кыргызстане" [The Uzbekistan U-20 youth team will compete in the CAFA Championship in Kyrgyzstan.]. sports.uz (in Russian). 25 June 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
5. "Iran crowned champions of 2024 CAFA U20". tehrantimes.com. 12 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
6. "IR Iran emerge champions". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 13 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
7. "تیم فوتبال جوانان ایران قهرمان مسابقات کافا شد" [Iran's youth football team became the champion of the CAFA championship.]. mehrnews.com (in Persian). 13 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
8. "CAFA U-20 Championship 2024: Historic First with VAR in Jalal-Abad, Kyrgyz Republic with the participation of 6 teams". Central Asian Football Association. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024 – via X.
9. "Молодежная сборная Туркменистана до 20 лет примет участие в чемпионате CAFA по футболу" [Turkmenistan U20 Youth Team to Take Part in CAFA Football Championship]. turkmenportal.com (in Russian). 18 June 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
10. "CAFA (U-20): играем в Джалал-Абаде!" [CAFA (U-20): we play in Jalal-Abad!]. sport.kg (in Russian). 19 June 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
11. "CAFA U-20 Championship 2024: Состоится Жеребьёвка" [CAFA U-20 Championship 2024: The Draw Will Take Place]. kfu.kg (in Russian). Kyrgyz Football Union. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
12. "Молодежная Сборная Таджикистана (U-20) Сыграет С Кыргызстаном И Афганистаном В Чемпионате CAFA-2024 В Джалал-абаде" [The Youth National Team of Tajikistan (U-20) will play against Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan in the CAFA-2024 Championship in Jalal-Abad]. fft.tj (in Russian). Tajikistan Football Federation. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
13. "Расписание матчей чемпионата CAFA U-20 с участием сборной Туркменистана" [Schedule of matches of the CAFA U-20 Championship with the participation of the Turkmenistan national team.]. turkmenportal.com (in Russian). 25 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
14. "تیم فوتبال جوانان ایران قهرمان کافا شد" [Iran's youth football team became the CAFA champion]. ipna.ir (in Persian). 13 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
15. "آرشا در کافا درخشید و بهترین دروازه‌بان شد" [Arsha shone in CAFA and became the best goalkeeper!]. varzesh3.com (in Persian). 13 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.

External links

• Official website