# CAFA Nations Cup

The CAFA Nations Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA), the governing body of football in Central Asia.

## History

The inaugural edition of the senior men's tournament was initially planned to be hosted by Tashkent in October 2018. It was not played out though.
In March 2023, it was announced the inaugural edition of the senior men's tournament would commence in June 2023 in Tashkent and Bishkek for the six member associations, along with the addition of two invited guest teams: Russia and an unconfirmed Asian team. However, the start of the inaugural edition of the tournament was put in doubt again after it was reported in early April 2023 that Iran, Uzbekistan, Russia, and Iraq would instead take part in a four-nation tournament in June 2023.
On 15 April, it was reported that Russia was set to shun the inaugural CAFA Championship, while organizers insisted they were still in talks with them over their participation. On 18 April, it was reported that Iran would take part in the inaugural CAFA Championship along with the member associations of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan, as well as invited guests Russia and one other Asian country, with the tournament being hosted in Tashkent and Bishkek in June. On 19 April, it was reported that Russia had withdrawn from the tournament. On 24 April, Oman was reported to be an invited guest team after Thailand reportedly turned down an invitation.

## Results

| Edition | Year | Hosts | Champions | Score | Runners-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | No. of Teams |
| 1 | 2023 | Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan | Iran | 1–0 | Uzbekistan | Oman | 1–0 | Kyrgyzstan | 7 |
| 2 | 2025 | TBD | 26 August - 9 September | | | | | | |

## Performance by nation

Teams reaching the top four :
| Team | Titles | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | Total |
| Iran | 1 (2023) | | | | 1 |
| Uzbekistan | | 1 (2023) | | | 1 |
| Oman | | | 1 (2023) | | 1 |
| Kyrgyzstan | | | | 1 (2023) | 1 |
* Italic: hosts

## Participating nations
### Legend

| Team | 2023 (7) | Total |
| Afghanistan | GS | 1 |
| Iran | 1st | 1 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 4th | 1 |
| Tajikistan | GS | 1 |
| Turkmenistan | GS | 1 |
| Uzbekistan | 2nd | 1 |
| Invitee nations |||
| Oman | 3rd | 1 |

## Summary

    As of the 2023 edition
| Rank | Team | Part | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Best result |
| 1 | Iran | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | +10 | 9 | Champions (2023) |
| 2 | Uzbekistan | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 9 | Runners-up (2023) |
| 3 | Oman | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 7 | Third place (2023) |
| 4 | Kyrgyzstan | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | –2 | 3 | Fourth place (2023) |
| 5 | Tajikistan | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | –4 | 2 | Group stage (2023) |
| 6 | Turkmenistan | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | –4 | 1 | Group stage (2023) |
| 7 | Afghanistan | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | –8 | 0 | Group stage (2023) |

## Awards

| Year | Winning coaches | Most valuable player | Top goalscorers | Best goalkeeper | Fair play award |
| 2023 | Amir Ghalenoei Iran | Mehdi Taremi Iran | Mehdi Taremi (6) Iran | Ibrahim Al-Mukhaini Oman | Uzbekistan |