Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) is one of five regional bodies that govern association football in Asia. It governs association football, futsal, and beach football in Central Asia and countries neighboring the region. Headquartered in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, CAFA consists of six full national association members: Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
CAFA consists of the national football associations of Central Asia, runs competitions between national and club teams, and controls the prize money, regulations, and media rights to those competitions. CAFA aims to develop and strengthen the game of football throughout the region by raising the standards and creating more opportunities for the Member Associations for further growth.
In June 2014, the association was in principle approved by the Asian Football Confederation and approved at the Extraordinary Congress in January 2015 during the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. As a result, CAFA will be able to have representative member(s) on the AFC executive committee.
The formation of CAFA was spearheaded by the Iranian Football Federation following disputes with West Asian Football Federation members. It was reported that AFC President Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa gained politically from the creation of the new zone.
Members of the six nations met with AFC president Sheikh Salman on 10 May 2014 to talk about the possibility of creating a new Asian football zone. The delegations were invited by the AFC president following an initiative and proposed by Afghanistan and Iran. At the extraordinary AFC congress on 9 June 2014 in São Paulo, the plan of the new zone was ratified by the congress. It was subsequently approved at the AFC Extraordinary Congress in January 2015. CAFA's main headquarters after its foundation is located in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
In 2018, the inaugural edition of the CAFA Women's Championship was held in Uzbekistan. In June 2023, the inaugural edition of the CAFA Nations Cup was held in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. In October 2023, CAFA and AIFF signed a memorandum of understanding which will facilitate the participation of Indian teams in the Central Asian tournaments. In February 2025, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan submitted a joint bid to host the 2031 AFC Asian Cup. In April 2025, it was announced that two European teams, Armenia and Russia, had been invited to the 2025 CAFA Men's Futsal Championship, hosted by Iran. In June 2025, the second edition of the CAFA Nations Cup was announced to be held in August and September 2025, co-hosted by Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
CAFA consists of six member associations. All of them are members of the Asian Football Confederation.
CAFA runs several competitions which cover men's, women's, youth and futsal.
Source:
Competitions:
As of 8 September 2025 (After 2025 CAFA Nations Cup).
Rankings are calculated by FIFA.
Leading Men's team:
Leading Women's team: