Tajikistan Football Czar, Son of Actual Czar, Promises Boost in Quality

Tajikistan’s national football team went down 0-1 in a World Cup 2014 qualifier on September 2 to deadly rivals Uzbekistan. But Tajikistan Football Federation vice-president Rustam Emomali, President Emomali Rakhmon’s eldest son, is not taking the defeat lying down and has promised to improve the quality of the game in the country.

“Of course, it is shame that we were unable to defend the draw, but our team acquitted itself well against Uzbekistan,” he was cited as saying by Russian news agency Interfax.

Having played for Tajik premier league champions Istiqlol Dushanbe, Emomali should know a thing or two about football. 

He also spared a few words for the national team’s enthusiastic fans, diplomatically ignoring the scenes of unrest outside the packed 13,600-capacity stadium in Tursunzade. A meeting in the Tajik capital between the presidents of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Russia meant the game was pushed off the national airwaves, so turning up in person was the only way of getting to see the game live.

Again, presumably due to security concerns related to this meeting, the game was not held at the larger national stadium in Dushanbe, so many hopeful fans were turned away, leading to ugly scenes with the large contingent of police present.

Emomali may be reluctant to remind people about football violence, since he is ostensibly the cause of several worrying incidents at the country’s stadiums this year. Indeed, many a Tajik football fan is all but certain that team he himself founded, Istiqlol, benefits unduly from generous refereeing.

If only they could get some of those referees to arbitrate Tajikistan’s international matches.