President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan inspected the construction site of a 55,000-seat covered football stadium in New Tashkent on March 24. The facility is being built to host the semi-final and final matches of the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which Uzbekistan will co-host with Azerbaijan. The stadium meets FIFA's stringent requirements for venues of this level, which mandate a capacity of over 50,000 spectators. Construction began on November 11, 2023, with the laying of the foundation stone by the head of state.
Work is progressing at an accelerated pace: ground leveling has been fully completed, and foundation pouring is 95% finished. Metal structures are being delivered in stages to form the frame of the six-story building. The project carries a price tag of $100 million and represents the first covered stadium of this scale in Uzbekistan.
The choice of location in New Tashkent underscores the project's strategic status. This district is designed as a hub for progressive ideas, and the world-class stadium will become one of its key architectural and social anchors. The project is driven not only by sports development goals but also by specific international commitments.
The stadium will feature modern infrastructure: an expanded parking lot for 5,500 vehicles, a dedicated metro station, over ten state-of-the-art escalators inside the complex, specialized press zones, high-tech locker rooms for athletes, and three additional training fields on the adjacent grounds. The President emphasized the need for advanced planning of the entire surrounding area's landscaping.
This project marks the culmination of deep reforms in Uzbek football. While there were only three stadiums meeting FIFA and AFC standards in 2017, that number has now grown to ten. Mass sports have also seen transformation: renovated fields in 1,500 schools have enabled over one million young people in neighborhoods to engage with the sport.
These efforts are already yielding historic results: the national Olympic team made its debut in Paris, and the senior national team secured an unprecedented qualification for the current World Cup. As the President highlighted, the stadium in New Tashkent is being built not merely as a venue for the 2027 World Cup but as a long-term investment in the future of youth sports and the prestige of Uzbek football for decades to come.
Source: podrobno.uz