2018 CAFA Women’s Championship pre-tournament press conference takes place at the National Stadium

The head coaches of the participating teams Ali Javad Atayi (Afghanistan), Bahrom Norsafarov (Uzbekistan), Suleyman Bobokalonov (Tajikistan)and Gulbara Umatalieva (Kyrgyzstan) attended the press conference to talk to the media ahead of the tournament.

Ali Javad Atei:  "Thank you for inviting to the competition. I hope all the teams are ready for the upcoming matches and they are feeling the importance of this competition. Our team is young, but we try to show our best."

Sulaymon Bobokalonov:  "Earlier, we took part in qualifying matches for 2020 Tokyo Olympics and some of our players suffered an injury ahead of the 2018 CAFA Women’s Championship. So far, we have participated in many tournaments and I think that this tournament will also give a great benefit to us."

Gulbara Umatalieva:  Thank you for your invitation. The national teams are facing problems as most of our players are finishing their career due to personal circumstances. That is why we had to call up young players for national team. This competition can help to strengthen national teams and will be a great experience for our younger players. I’m always grateful to take part in this kind of tournaments with our neighbors."

Bahrom Norsafarov:  I would like to say to all of you, welcome to Uzbekistan. Our main goal is to give an opportunity to young players and select candidate for the national team. We have called up many young players to this competition, which is a part of our preparation plan for the Qualification Round of 2020 AFC Women's Asian Cup. Uzbekistan Women’s League has ended recently and our players feel tired now. Nevertheless, we aim to show a good football in this competition."