Sports in Central Asia explained

The area of Central Asia has a wide variety of sports, many of which have close cultural ties to the countries involved.

International Sports

Football

Football, the world's most popular sport,^[1] is played in the majority of countries in Central Asia. The Asian Football Confederation or AFC is the governing body of association football in Asia, similar to UEFA in Europe and FIFA worldwide.^[2]

The following countries all have organisations affiliated to the AFC:

• Afghanistan
• Iran
• Kyrgyzstan
• Tajikistan
• Turkmenistan
• Uzbekistan^[3]
• Mongolia is considered "East Asia" on the Asian Football Confederation's website

Domestic Sports

Wrestling

Though wrestling is an international and Olympic sport, there are many different variations in Central Asia. Mongolian wrestling has been practised in the country for many centuries.Khuresh is a form of wrestling that is popular in the region of Tuva in Siberia.

Notes and References

1. [Association football]
2. [Asian Football Confederation]
3. Web site: the-afc.com.