A meeting chaired by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was held to discuss priority tasks in the field of physical culture and sports. It was noted that matches of the national football championship are sometimes held during working hours, leading to lower-than-expected fan attendance, and emphasized that moving games to weekends or evening times after 7:00 PM could increase club revenues by 2–3 times.
The meeting also highlighted that a recent presidential decree has created favorable conditions for entrepreneurs wishing to invest in sports. Now, a businessman covering 20% of a federation's annual expenses can join its leadership. Similarly, an entrepreneur financing 20% of a professional football club's budget can take it into trust management. The President stated: "Overall, sports in Uzbekistan should become not only a guarantee of health and high results but also a profitable industry."
It was noted that by moving matches to convenient times, organizing entertainment events around stadiums, improving transport accessibility on match days, and offering affordable tour packages for visiting team fans, attendance, club revenues, and additional business opportunities could be significantly increased. Responsible officials were instructed to develop a program to sharply increase stadium attendance.
Additionally, it was indicated that 39 open and covered sports facilities in the regions require repair and are not fully utilized, with instructions to prepare a draft decision on transferring these facilities to private partnership on favorable terms for their modernization. Furthermore, a proposal to establish the Confederation of Non-Olympic Sports of Uzbekistan was approved.
The President also emphasized that a recently adopted law clearly defines the responsibility of ministers, federation leaders, and local officials for the development of physical culture and sports: "From now on, the requirements and demands placed on them will be appropriate," he declared. During the meeting, the head of state listened to reports from industry leaders and local officials, and held a dialogue with entrepreneurs and athletes.
Source: kun.uz