# 2021 Tajikistan Higher League

The 2021 Ligai Olii Tojikiston (Tajik: 2021 Лигаи Олии Тоҷикистон, Russian: 2021 Высшая лига Таджикистана), or 2021 Tajikistan Higher League was the 30th season of Tajikistan Higher League, Tajikistan's top division of association football. The season began on 4 April 2021, and consist of twenty-seven rounds of matches.

## Season events

On 5 March, the Tajikistan Football Federation announced that the calendar of matches for the 2021 season will be drawn on 12 March.

## Teams

On 5 March 2021, the Tajikistan Football Federation announced that the season would involve ten teams, with there being 27 matches in three rounds. The teams consist of CSKA Pamir, Dushanbe-83, Fayzkand, Istiklol, Istaravshan, Khatlon, Khujand, Kuktosh and newly promoted Eskhata Khujand, and Ravshan Kulob.
| Team | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| CSKA Pamir | Dushanbe | CSKA Stadium | 7,000 |
| Dushanbe-83 | Dushanbe | | |
| Eskhata | Khujand | Bistsolagii Istiqloliyati Stadium | 20,000 |
| Fayzkand | Hulbuk | Markazii Kulob Stadium | |
| Istaravshan | Istaravshan | Istaravshan Sports Complex | 20,000 |
| Istiklol | Dushanbe | Markazii Tojikiston Stadium | 24,000 |
| Khatlon | Bokhtar | Markazii Bokhtar Stadium | 10,000 |
| Khujand | Khujand | Bistsolagii Istiqloliyati Stadium | 20,000 |
| Kuktosh | Chorgulteppa | Rudaki Stadium | |
| Ravshan | Kulob | Markazii Kulob Stadium | |

### Personnel and sponsoring

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Sponsor |
| CSKA Pamir | Alier Ashurmamadov | | Joma | 1xBet |
| Dushanbe-83 | Nazir Rizomov | | Joma | |
| Eskhata | Khamid Karimov | | Joma | Bank Eskhata |
| Fayzkand | Tokhirjon Muminov | | | |
| Istaravshan | Makhmadjon Khabibulloev | | | |
| Istiklol | Vitaliy Levchenko | Alisher Dzhalilov | Joma | Siyoma |
| Khatlon | Asliddin Khabibullaev | | Joma | Formula 55 |
| Khujand | Rustam Khojayev | | Joma | Formula 55 |
| Kuktosh | Hikmatullo Sharpiov | | | |
| Ravshan | Gairatali Mirakhmedov | Hasan Rustamov | Joma | Hoji Sharif |

### Foreign players

Each Tajikistan Higher League club is permitted to register a maximum of six foreign players, with four allowed on the pitch at the same time.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Player 6 | Player 7 | Former Players |
| CSKA Pamir | Luc Mendjana | Idriss Aminu | Ocran Idan | Alex Peprah | Rahat Japarow | Orzubek Buriev | | Felix Tette Mykyta Shevtsov |
| Dushanbe-83 | Collins Aduhene | Agbley Johns | Sodiq Musa | Nerrick Tettey | Daniel Tagoe | | | Luc Mendjana Amir Memari Manesh Ion Arabadji Stanislav Ivanov |
| Eskhata | Shahzod Abdurakhimov | Akhror Inoyatov | | | | | | Akobir Turaev |
| Fayzkand | Arthur Bougnone | Joseph Feumba | Junior Onana | Arash Akbari | Dilshodzhon Baratov | Jasur Kurbonov | Anvar Murodov | |
| Istaravshan | Jafar Ismoilov | Shakhzod Mamurzhonov | Khurshid Olimov | Jakhongir Safarov | Shakhzod Shamsiddinov | Akhrorbek Uktamov | | |
| Istiklol | Petar Patev | Ryota Noma | Oleksiy Larin | Andriy Mischenko | | | | Huseyin Dogan |
| Khatlon | Tony Bikatal | Jen Gaten | Asomini Ebenezer | Kuaye Godson | | | | |
| Khujand | Aleksei Matrossov | Artem Serdyuk | Firdavs Abdusalimov | Olim Karimov | Samandar Ochilov | | | Maksim Grek |
| Kuktosh | Olivier Mbom | Ya Saturnin-Hermann | Alizhon Alizhonov | Asadbek Islomov | Sukhrob Rakhmonov | Bunyod Shodiev | Nodirbek Ibragimov | Mukhiddin Odilov |
| Ravshan | Benjamin Asamoah | Kingsley Osei Effah | Obed Owusu | Musa Ibragimov | Mukhriddin Akhmedov | | | Nodirbek Ibragimov Anvar Murodov Bunyod Shodiev |
In bold: Players that have been capped for their national team.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Position in table | Incoming manager |
| CSKA Pamir | Serhiy Zhytskyi | Pre-Season | Alier Ashurmamadov |
| Istaravshan | Alier Ashurmamadov | Pre-Season | Makhmadjon Khabibulloev |
| Khujand | Khakim Fuzailov | Pre-Season | Rustam Khojayev |
| Kuktosh | Makhmadjon Khabibulloev | Pre-Season | Hikmatullo Sharpiov |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Istiklol (C) | 27 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 78 | 9 | +69 | 68 | Qualification for AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Khujand | 27 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 52 | 26 | +26 | 55 | Qualification for AFC Cup play off round |
| 3 | CSKA Pamir | 27 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 37 | 29 | +8 | 44 | Qualification for AFC Cup play off round |
| 4 | Istaravshan | 27 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 30 | 25 | +5 | 42 | |
| 5 | Khatlon | 27 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 30 | 33 | −3 | 36 | |
| 6 | Eskhata | 27 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 33 | 49 | −16 | 30 | |
| 7 | Ravshan | 27 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 29 | |
| 8 | Fayzkand | 27 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 20 | 37 | −17 | 29 | |
| 9 | Kuktosh (R) | 27 | 7 | 5 | 15 | 38 | 58 | −20 | 26 | Relegation to Tajik First Division |
| 10 | Dushanbe-83 (R) | 27 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 67 | −44 | 18 | Relegation to Tajik First Division |

## Fixtures and results
### Rounds 1–18

| Home \ Away | CPD | D83 | ESK | FAY | ISA | IST | KHA | KJD | KUK | RAV |
| CSKA Pamir | | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–3 |
| Dushanbe-83 | 0–0 | | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 |
| Eskhata | 1–2 | 3–1 | | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Fayzkand | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 |
| Istaravshan | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| Istiklol | 1–0 | 5–0 | 5–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | | 2–0 | 4–1 | 7–1 | 3–0 |
| Khatlon | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–6 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| Khujand | 2–0 | 4–1 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | | 4–0 | 0–0 |
| Kuktosh | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–3 | | 1–2 |
| Ravshan | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | |

### Rounds 19–27

| Home \ Away | CPD | D83 | ESK | FAY | ISA | IST | KHA | KJD | KUK | RAV |
| CSKA Pamir | | 4–0 | | | | | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
| Dushanbe-83 | | | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–8 | | | | |
| Eskhata | 1–2 | | | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | | | | 1–0 |
| Fayzkand | 1–3 | | | | | | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | |
| Istaravshan | 0–0 | | | 1–0 | | 0–1 | | 1–2 | | 1–0 |
| Istiklol | 3–1 | | | 5–0 | | | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 2–0 |
| Khatlon | | 3–1 | 2–1 | | 0–1 | | | | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| Khujand | | 5–0 | 2–1 | | | | 2–1 | | 4–2 | 3–1 |
| Kuktosh | | 3–1 | 5–0 | | 2–1 | 1–2 | | | | |
| Ravshan | 1–2 | 2–0 | | 2–1 | | | | | 2–3 | |

### By match played

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| CSKA Pamir | L | L | L | W | D | L | D | L | D | L | D | W | D | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | D | D | W |
| Dushanbe-83 | L | L | W | L | W | D | D | D | L | L | D | L | W | D | D | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L |
| Eskhata | D | W | D | L | L | W | L | W | W | W | L | L | W | L | W | D | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | W |
| Fayzkand | W | D | W | D | L | L | L | D | W | L | D | L | L | L | L | W | D | L | L | L | W | L | W | L | W | L | W |
| Istaravshan | W | L | W | D | W | L | D | L | D | W | D | W | L | W | W | L | D | L | W | L | L | W | W | L | W | D | W |
| Istiklol | D | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | D | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W |
| Khatlon | D | D | L | L | D | W | W | W | L | W | D | D | L | L | L | W | L | W | W | L | W | L | L | W | D | W | L |
| Khujand | W | D | W | L | W | W | W | L | D | L | W | W | W | W | D | L | W | L | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | L |
| Kuktosh | D | W | L | W | L | D | L | W | L | L | D | D | L | L | L | L | D | L | L | W | L | W | L | W | L | W | L |
| Ravshan | L | D | D | W | L | L | D | L | W | W | D | L | W | D | D | D | D | W | L | L | L | W | L | W | L | L | L |

## Season statistics
### Scoring

* First goal of the season: Makhmadali Sadykov for Fayzkand against CSKA Pamir. (4 April 2021)

### Top scorers

    As of end of season
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Manuchekhr Dzhalilov | Istiklol | 18 |
| 2 | Rustam Soirov | Istiklol | 15 |
| 3 | Dilshod Bozorov | Khujand | 13 |
| 3 | Ilhomjon Barotov | Istaravshan | 13 |
| 5 | Alisher Dzhalilov | Istiklol | 12 |
| 6 | Artyom Serdyuk | Khujand | 11 |
| 7 | Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev | CSKA Pamir Dushanbe | 9 |
| 7 | Akobir Turaev | Eskhata | 9 |
| 7 | Abdukhalil Boronov | Fayzkand | 9 |
| 7 | Nuriddin Khamrokulov | Khatlon | 9 |
| 7 | Amirjon Safarov | Kuktosh | 9 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Abdukhalil Boronov | Fayzkand | Kuktosh | 3–1 (H) | 16 April 2021 |
| Artyom Serdyuk | Khujand | Istaravshan | 2–3 (A) | 6 May 2021 |
| Rustam Soirov | Istiklol | Eskhata | 5–1 (H) | 4 July 2021 |
| Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev$^4$ | CSKA Pamir Dushanbe | Dushanbe-83 | 4–0 (H) | 25 September 2021 |
| Manuchekhr Dzhalilov$^4$ | Istiklol | Dushanbe-83 | 0–8 (A) | 21 November 2021 |
| Rustam Soirov | Istiklol | Dushanbe-83 | 0–8 (A) | 21 November 2021 |
* $^4$ Player scored 4 goals

### Clean sheets

    As of matches played 4 July 2021.
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Azimjon Karaev | Fayzkand | 4 |
| 1 | Kurbonali Boboev | Istaravshan | 4 |
| 1 | Aleksei Matrossov | Khujand | 4 |
| 4 | Rustam Yatimov | Istiklol | 3 |
| 4 | Rustam Rizoev | Ravshan | 3 |
| 6 | Kuaye Godson | Khatlon | 2 |
| 7 | Alex Peprah | CSKA Pamir Dushanbe | 1 |
| 7 | Faromurz Saidov | Dushanbe-83 | 1 |
| 7 | Shakhzod Shamsiddinov | Istaravshan | 1 |
| 7 | Mukhriddin Khasanov | Istiklol | 1 |
| 7 | Shokhrukh Kirgizboev | Kuktosh | 1 |

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | References |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club | References |
| April | Azizbek Sultonov | Kuktosh | Tokhirjon Muminov | Fayzkand | |
| May | Tohirjon Tagoyzoda | Khatlon | Asliddin Khabibullaev | Khatlon | |