Uzbekistan NOC News
29 September 2026 - Find here the latest news from the National Olympic Committee: events, courses, general assemblies and elections, trophies and much more.
29 September 2026 - A total of 396 Uzbek athletes, 224 men and 172 women, are competing at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, making it the largest delegation for Uzbekistan in the history of the event. Moreover, 153 athletes will be competing at the Asian Para Games from 18 to 24 October. This record-breaking delegation reflects Uzbekistan’s long-term investment in sport, guided by the national philosophy "Healthy Person – Healthy Nation". With major infrastructure projects like Tashkent’s 100-hectare Olympic City, Uzbekistan has built a sustainable sports ecosystem that is delivering results, as evidenced by a historic 13th-place finish in the medal table at Paris 2024 and the historic FIFA World Cup debut this summer. Senior NOC staff are also monitoring and observing the delivery of operations at the Asian Games in Japan, gaining valuable major-event knowledge as Uzbekistan prepares to host the Asian Youth Games in Tashkent in 2029. More info at olympic.uz.
21 August 2026 - Marking the International Day for Awareness of the Special Development Needs and Challenges of Landlocked Developing Countries (6 August), the NOC highlighted sport’s role in overcoming the unique obstacles faced by nations without direct access to the sea. Recent milestones include Uzbekistan’s historic qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026, becoming the first Central Asian nation to reach the tournament, and the opening of Olympic City in Tashkent, Central Asia’s largest sports complex. With 60 percent of Uzbekistan's 38 million population under the age of 30, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has designated sport as a national priority alongside education and healthcare –recognition that active, healthy young people are the foundation of a thriving landlocked nation's future. More info at olympic.uz.
27 July 2026 - The NOC marked World Chess Day on 20 July by praising the power of chess to promote fairness, inclusion and mutual respect, as the country prepares to host the 46th FIDE (World Chess Federation) Chess Olympiad in Samarkand from 15 to 28 September, which will bring together 200 national teams. The popularity of chess in Uzbekistan and the rise of a new generation of world-class young players are the outcome of long-term, sustainable investment driven by the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, to increase participation and development. This year's event will see refugee players compete in teams for the first time ever. The 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad marks another major sporting event in Uzbekistan in 2026. Tashkent will host the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup from 8 to 10 October, followed by the Asian Table Tennis Championships from 12 to 25 October, before welcoming the World Sambo Championships from 6 to 8 November, and the World Junior Judo Championships from 19 to 21 November. More details at www.olympic.uz.
19 June 2026 - On 13 June, more than 1,000 families took part in a festival of sport organised in Tashkent by the NOC to celebrate Olympic Day. Held at Olympic City, the largest sports complex in Central Asia, the festival introduced an “Olympic Day Passport”, with the young participants collecting stamps as they took part in various sports. One of the festival highlights was the 1km marathon run. The event also featured street food trucks, merchandise zones and a media zone where the young participants had the opportunity to play the role of a reporter and interview senior officials. More info at www.olympic.uz.
27 April 2026 - The NOC marked the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace on 6 April with the opening of the Akbar Djuraev Weightlifting School, a state-of-the-art training facility for young weightlifters in Tashkent. The facility is named in honour of Akbar Djuraev, Uzbekistan's second Olympic weightlifting champion (gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games). The school will serve as a major hub for future generations, aiming to unite young athletes and further expand weightlifting’s reach in Central Asia. Recently, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) awarded Uzbekistan the opportunity to host one of the five IWF Qualifiers for the LA28 Olympic Games. More info at www.olympic.uz and here on the IWF website.
10 January 2026 - The National Sports Awards 2025 ceremony recently took place in Tashkent. Organised by the NOC, the event honoured athletes, coaches and specialists who worked tirelessly throughout the year and delivered excellent results. Discover the names of the winners here.
17 December 2024 - The 41st NOC General Assembly was held at the end of November. Alongside members of the General Assembly and officials from national federations and associations, the Assembly took place in the presence of the Prime Minister, Abdulla Aripov; the Head of the Department of the Administration of the President of the Republic, Odil Abdurakhmanov; the Minister of Sport, Adham Ikramov; and OCA Vice-President Otabek Umarov. During the Assembly, Shavkat Mirziyoyev was elected as the NOC President. NOC Vice-Presidents and the Secretary General were also elected. The updated NOC Charter was also approved on this occasion. Full details here.
13 May 2024 - Worldwide Olympic Partner P&G and the NOC of Uzbekistan signed a memorandum of cooperation between the two organisations on 1 May. The event was attended by the Senior Vice-President of Procter & Gamble for Türkiye, the Caucasus and Central Asia, Tankut Turnaoğlu, and NOC Secretary General Oybek Kasimov, as well as athletes, coaches and officials from both organisations. Turnaoğlu said he was pleased to support the promotion of the Olympic Movement in Uzbekistan through cooperation with the NOC. In turn, Kasimov recalled that P&G is one of the TOP Partners of the IOC, which played an important role in the signing of the bilateral cooperation agreement. More info here. A delegation from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) visited the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, as part of the preparations for the Tashkent 2025 Asian Youth and Para-Asian Games. Meetings were held with the Ministry of Sport, the NOC and the National Paralympic Committee, and visits to the facilities under construction in the Village took place. More info here.
**15 January 2024 - **The National Sports Awards 2023 ceremony recently took place in Tashkent. Organised by the NOC, the event was attended by the Head of the Department of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Odil Abdurakhmanov; the Minister of Youth Policy and Sports, Adham Ikramov; the Vice-President of the Olympic Council of Asia, Otabek Umarov; and the NOC Secretary General, Oybek Kasimov. Discover here the names of the winners.
08 March 2021 - The President of the NOC of Uzbekistan, Rustam Shaabdurakhmonov (left in photo), welcomed his colleague from the Turkish Olympic Committee, President of World Archery and IOC Member Uğur Erdener (right), to the NOC headquarters in Tashkent. The two leaders discussed cooperation and plans for the future. A memorandum of cooperation between the two NOCs was signed, which will involve organising joint training camps for national teams in preparation for major competitions, and cooperation and exchanges of experience in the field of sports medicine and pharmacology. More info here.
16 November 2020 - The NOC of Uzbekistan, the Uzbek State University of Physical Culture and Sports and the Olympic Academy of Uzbekistan organised a Scientific-Practical Online Conference devoted to “Modern Science in Olympic Sports”. Leading sports scientists and specialists from Russia, Ukraine, the USA, Kazakhstan and Iran attended the event. The conference participants delivered reports on the topics of their choice. During the presentations, scientists shared valuable information on Olympic education and refereeing at competitions. More details here.
10 July 2020 - Due to the pandemic crisis, Olympic Day in Uzbekistan was held on 20 June with the virtual participation of leaders of sports federations and associations, athletes, coaches and national artists. The NOC of Uzbekistan started the celebration on 15 June with a virtual racing programme, attracting about 500 people until 22 June. Also from 17 June, the “Olympiad – is …” project, attended by famous athletes and hundreds of fans, was launched on national media, public and private TV channels, websites and social networks. Several federations organised online competitions. At the Metropolitan Museum of Olympic Glory, race competitions and other recreational activities were held for the staff. Full details here.
22 July 2019 - The NOC of Uzbekistan has announced that the 2019 edition of Olympic Day brought together 2.5 million participants, with 2,000 sports events organised throughout the country. A gala concert attracted 8,000 people. Mass sports competitions were held in kindergartens, schools, colleges, universities and summer camps. The Olympic Day event was one of five initiatives put forward by the Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev as part of a state programme aiming to develop physical culture and mass sport, and to maximise outreach to young people to encourage them to take up sport. More info atwww.olympic.uz