The draw for the FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024™ will be made on 26 May, as preparations continue for the first FIFA tournament to be held in Central Asia.
The tenth edition of the FIFA Futsal World Cup™ will be contested between 14 September and 6 October across three Host Cities; the capital, Tashkent; Andijan, located in the Fergana Valley and the ancient Silk Road trading center of Bukhara.
The 24 qualified teams will appear in the draw, which will take place in Samarkand’s spectacular Registan Square – a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2001. The square is one of the most impressive locations on the Silk Road, and featuring stunning azure mosaics, set over a wide area. plaza, and sits as the centerpiece of the ancient city of Samarkand. The tie will feature holders Portugal and record five-time champions Brazil, as well as four tournament debutants: Afghanistan, France, New Zealand and Tajikistan.
Following their strong performances at last month’s AFC Futsal Asian Cup, the qualification of Afghanistan and Tajikistan means that this landmark edition of the FIFA Futsal World Cup for Central Asia will feature four teams from the region for the time being first. Tajikistan will take part in their first FIFA senior global performance, while the Afghan team will compete in their nation’s first FIFA tournament. This year’s competition will be Kazakhstan’s third straight appearance in the tournament.
Uzbekistan will become the fourth AFC member association to host the FIFA Futsal World Cup, after Hong Kong (1992), Chinese Taipei (2004) and Thailand (2012). Futsal has grown a lot in Uzbekistan over the last decade. The national team took part in the FIFA Futsal World Cup for the first time in 2016 and reached the knockout stage in the 2021 edition, when they were eliminated in the last 16 after a 9-8 defeat against IR Iran in one of the most memorable. games in the tournament’s history. The White Wolves have been runners-up in the AFC Asia Futsal Cup on four occasions and have reached the podium in the last five editions of the continental competition, finishing third in this year’s installment.
The 24-team squad for the FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024 is as follows: Afghanistan, Angola, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, France, Guatemala, IR Iran, Kazakhstan, Libya, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain, Tajikistan, Thailand, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.
