The 2026 CAFA Silk Way Cup will be 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.
It was originally planned to take place in MarchâÂÂApril 2025. The 2025 competition was postponed due to insufficient sponsorship, to be rescheduled for 2026.
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 2025âÂÂ26 AFC Champions League Elite and 2025âÂÂ26 AFC Champions League Two, were each granted one slot. Meanwhile, the remaining four associations received two slots each.
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 teams that are participating in other AFC competitions during the 2025âÂÂ26 season.