Central Asian Football Association

Name

Central Asian Football Association

Legal name

Central Asian Football Association

Website

https://the-cafa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Football Federation Governance

NAICS

Spectator Sports (71121), Other Spectator Sports (711219)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional/Continental Confederations & Associations (MPAKAFAD)

Keywords

• Regional football governance
• Football competition management
• Youth football development
• Women's football programs
• Referee education training

Headquarters

HQ city

Dushanbe

HQ country

Tajikistan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: CAFA operates as one of five Regional Associations of the Asian Football Confederation, with six member football associations paying membership dues

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

CAFA organizes and manages regional football competitions across Central Asia, including the senior-level Nations Cup, men's and women's U17, U18 and U20 championships, Women's Futsal Championship, and the grassroots Navruz Football Festival. It also delivers educational programs for match officials (referee seminars, VAR training, futsal webinars), women's football development seminars, media and marketing webinars, and child safeguarding seminars, and publishes governance documents (statutes, electoral code, disciplinary code) that govern its six member national associations.

Product overview

The Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) is a regional football federation that serves as one of five Regional Associations of the Asian Football Confederation. CAFA organizes and manages a portfolio of football competitions across Central Asia, primarily consisting of age-group championships (U17, U18, U20) for both men's and women's football, futsal championships, and the senior-level CAFA Nations Cup. The organization also delivers educational programmes including referees seminars, VAR courses, women's football development seminars, media and marketing webinars, and child safeguarding seminars. CAFA's competition portfolio includes men's youth championships (U17 and U20), women's youth championships (U17, U18, U20), women's futsal championships, and the Nations Cup featuring senior teams. Additionally, CAFA publishes governance documents including statutes, electoral codes, disciplinary codes, and organizational regulations that govern the federation's operations. The association also organizes the annual Navruz Football Festival as a grassroots youth engagement initiative.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CAFA Nations Cup Senior-level football competition featuring CAFA member associations and guest teams from other Asian regions, organized annually as the flagship men's senior tournament of the Central Asian Football Association.
• CAFA U20 Championship Youth men's football championship for players under 20 years of age, organized in round-robin and knockout formats featuring CAFA member national teams. The 2026 edition was held from 12-19 May 2026 in Tajikistan with Uzbekistan winning.
• CAFA U17 Championship Youth men's football championship for players under 17 years of age, organized in round-robin format featuring CAFA member national teams. The 2026 edition was held in April with Tajikistan winning their second consecutive title.
• CAFA Women's Futsal Championship Women's futsal competition organized by CAFA featuring national women's futsal teams from Central Asia. The 2026 edition was hosted at the Dushanbe Indoor Hall featuring I.R. Iran, Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan in round-robin format.
• CAFA U20 Women's Championship Youth women's football championship for players under 20 years of age, organized in round-robin format featuring national women's teams. The 2026 edition was held in Hisor, Tajikistan from 21-25 July 2026 with Uzbekistan winning the championship.
• CAFA U18 Women's Championship Youth women's football championship for players under 18 years of age, organized annually by CAFA featuring national women's teams from Central Asia. The 2025 edition was held from 22-29 November 2025.
• CAFA U17 Women's Championship Youth women's football championship for players under 17 years of age, organized annually by CAFA featuring national women's teams from Central Asia. The 2025 edition was held from 4-8 March 2025.
• CAFA Navruz Football Festival Grassroots football festival celebrating the Navruz spring holiday across Central Asia, engaging children, young talents, coaches and volunteers. The 2026 edition engaged over 1,000 children across multiple cities in Turkmenistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan.
• CAFA Futsal Referees Webinar Educational webinar programme for futsal referees and match officials delivered via Zoom, featuring AFC Futsal Referee Instructors. The 2026 edition covered FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2024/25 amendments and brought together 24 participants from across the Central Asian region.
• CAFA Referees Seminar and VAR Course Education and capacity building programme for match officials including Video Assistant Referee (VAR) training and implementation across CAFA competitions.
• CAFA Women's Football Development Seminar Educational programme for women's football development conducted in cooperation with Football Australia, focusing on growth and advancement of women's football across Central Asia.
• CAFA Media and Marketing Webinar Educational webinar programme covering media and marketing aspects of football administration and tournament promotion for member associations.
• CAFA Child Safeguarding Seminar Educational seminar focused on child protection and safeguarding policies within football, supporting implementation of CAFA's Child Safeguarding Policy 2024 Edition across member associations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Navruz Football Festival 2025 engaged more than 1,000 children across eight cities
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Asian Football Confederation (AFC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 January 2015CAFA is one of five Regional Associations of the AFC. The AFC approved CAFA's establishment in principle in June 2014 and formally at the AFC Extraordinary Congress on 9 January 2015. AFC provides governance oversight, competition frameworks, and represents CAFA at the continental level.
• FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAll six CAFA member associations are full members of FIFA. CAFA facilitates qualification pathways to FIFA competitions including the FIFA World Cup and FIFA U-17 World Cup. CAFA President H.E. Rustam Emomali proposed World Football Day, subsequently recognized by the UN and FIFA.
• Football AustraliaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFootball Australia cooperated with CAFA to conduct a Women's Football Development Seminar, supporting knowledge sharing and capacity building in women's football development across Central Asia.
• Member Football AssociationscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSix national football federations (Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) serve as member associations that participate in CAFA competitions, implement development programs, and represent their nations in regional football events.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• East Asian Football Federation (EAFF): Another AFC Regional Association covering East Asian football. Operates regional championships for member national federations under the AFC umbrella — directly parallel in structure and function to CAFA.
• South Asian Football Federation (SAFF): AFC Regional Association governing football in South Asia with a similar mandate: organizing regional tournaments (e.g., SAFF Championships), development programs, and pathways to AFC and FIFA competitions. Closely analogous to CAFA's role in Central Asia.
• Oceania Football Confederation (OFC): Another of FIFA's six continental confederations, with a small member-base and a regional tournament portfolio analogous to CAFA's. Useful peer for understanding governance, scale, and revenue dynamics of a small regional football federation.
• ASEAN Football Federation (AFF): An AFC Regional Association governing Southeast Asian football with a similar six-member-plus structure of national federations, organizing regional championships and development programs. Directly comparable as a sister regional confederation.
• West Asian Football Federation (WAFF): Another AFC Regional Association, structurally identical to CAFA — governs West Asian football, organizes regional championships for member national federations, and reports to AFC. Directly comparable in mandate, scale, and operating model.

Broad incumbents

• FIFA: Global governing body of football and the apex of the pyramid in which CAFA operates. Comparable as a sports federation governing competition pathways; operates at dramatically larger scale but shares the non-profit federation model.
• Confederation of African Football (CAF): Continental football confederation for Africa and another AFC peer in the FIFA ecosystem. Operates regional zonal unions with similar structures to CAFA's, plus the Africa Cup of Nations — a broad incumbent comparable in mandate and federation model.
• Asian Football Confederation (AFC): CAFA's parent continental confederation and one of FIFA's six confederations. Operates at a vastly larger scale across Asia, organizing AFC Asian Cup, AFC Champions League, and providing governance oversight to CAFA itself. Broad incumbent and direct counterparty.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thecafa
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCEw7VsQGa_9elxyknBRpiEQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/thecafa
• Instagraminstagram.com/thecafa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/central-asian-football

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Central Asian Football Association