The football federations of Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan reached an agreement after a meeting in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, to expand cooperation, conduct appropriate training camps and arrange friendly matches between the member states. According to the deal, a tournament called “Nowruz” will be held from the next year 2022 with the permanent presence of four member states of CAFA. Also, the  Senior teams of each country will play in a competition on the occasion of Nowruz and in the days leading up to the celebration of the New Year, for a 4 side tournament.

Hassan Kamrani Far, Secretary-General of Iran’s Football Federation, who was representing Iran in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, was appointed as the executive director of the first tournament, along with Asian refereeing veteran Roshan Irmatov of Uzbekistan. The period of holding the Nowruz 2022 tournament will be decided by the members of CAFA after further consultations.

The Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) is a subdivision of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) association of the football-playing nations in Central Asia. Its headquarters is in Dushanbe, Tajikistan and the President is Rustam Emomali from Tajikistan.

The member states of CAFA are Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan.