East Bengal might be a century-old club and one of the oldest playing in the AFC Challenge League right now, but the same can’t exactly be said about Arkadag. The Turkmenistan club was only founded in 2023 by Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who is the former president of Turkmenistan and the current Chairman of the People’s Council of Turkmenistan.
They have achieved a lot of success over their very short history, having won the Yokary Liga (Turkmenistan top division) in 2023 and also in 2024. They also won the Turkmenistan Cup in 2023 and have been dominating the national scene thanks to the heavy backing from the former president.
Arkadag are actually participating in their first-ever AFC competition in the Challenge League. They picked up wins over Maziya S&RC as well as Abdysh-Ata Kant in the group stages, scoring six goals in three games to win their group.
They enjoyed an incredible amount of success in the previous Yokary Liga campaign. Arkadag won all 26 of their matches, scoring an incredible 126 goals and only conceded 19 times in the campaign.
The rather unique thing about Arkadag is that they only have Turkmenistan players in their squad. Only two players, wingers Ilya Tamurkin (Turkmenistan and Russia) and captain Arslanmurad Amanov (Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan) have dual-national parents but are Turkmenistan citizens themselves.
Despite its fabulous success and its winning streak, the club has its fair share of controversies, particularly regarding the owner, authoritarian ex-leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, favourable refereeing, poaching national team players etc.
As I had mentioned before, Arkadag had won the Turkmenistan top division and were supposed to play in AFC Champions League II but they reportedly did not have the necessary club licenses. So, Altyn Asyr, who finished in second place in the Yokary Liga (Turkmenistan top division) behind FK Arkadag, were slotted in their place and played against EB where the emerged winners.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will not fine or penalise Mohun Bagan Super Giant for their withdrawal from the AFC Champions League 2, the confederation announced on Saturday.
Mohun Bagan SG had pulled out of their AFC Champions League 2 away game against Tractor FC of Iran, scheduled for October 2, citing the “safety and security” of players.
The Mohun Bagan players refused to travel to Iran last month due to the volatile situation in West Asia, with Iran and Israel involved in a shadow war.
The Kolkata-based club, in a press release, stated that the AFC Competitions Committee decided to recognise the matters raised as an Event of Force Majeure (an unforeseen event). The decision of the AFC means there will be no negative impact on India's coefficient points.
However, Mohun Bagan SG will stay withdrawn from the league according to clauses 5.5 and 5.6 of the AFC Champions League 2 Competition Regulations, which states, “In the event that a Participating Club withdraws from the Competition, whether before or after commencement of the Competition (as applicable), the Competition shall continue with the remaining Participating Clubs and Matches without any replacement.”
“Any Participating Club that withdraws from the Competition after it has commenced shall have all its Matches cancelled and considered null and void. No points and goals in those Matches shall be taken into consideration when determining the final rankings in a group," stated clause 5.6.
As per clause 5.7 of the AFC Champions League 2 Competition Regulations, Mohun Bagan will not be penalised.
“Where any Participating Club fails to comply with Article 5.1 and withdraws from the Competition at any stage, the case shall be referred to the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee," the clause stated.
While withdrawing the club from their game against Tractor FC, Mohun Bagan cited the advisory of the Indian foreign ministry, urging Indians not to travel to West Asia due to the risk involved there.
Comments
https://x.com/IFTWC/status/1852595116458033396
- 48 matches played, 48 matches won
- Goal difference overall of +174
- 0 foreigners in the team
- Won Ýokary Liga in 2023 and 2024
https://x.com/IFTWC/status/1852606460913709371
Who Are FK Arkadag?
East Bengal might be a century-old club and one of the oldest playing in the AFC Challenge League right now, but the same can’t exactly be said about Arkadag. The Turkmenistan club was only founded in 2023 by Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who is the former president of Turkmenistan and the current Chairman of the People’s Council of Turkmenistan.
They have achieved a lot of success over their very short history, having won the Yokary Liga (Turkmenistan top division) in 2023 and also in 2024. They also won the Turkmenistan Cup in 2023 and have been dominating the national scene thanks to the heavy backing from the former president.
Arkadag are actually participating in their first-ever AFC competition in the Challenge League. They picked up wins over Maziya S&RC as well as Abdysh-Ata Kant in the group stages, scoring six goals in three games to win their group.
They enjoyed an incredible amount of success in the previous Yokary Liga campaign. Arkadag won all 26 of their matches, scoring an incredible 126 goals and only conceded 19 times in the campaign.
The rather unique thing about Arkadag is that they only have Turkmenistan players in their squad. Only two players, wingers Ilya Tamurkin (Turkmenistan and Russia) and captain Arslanmurad Amanov (Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan) have dual-national parents but are Turkmenistan citizens themselves.
https://khelnow.com/football/indian-football-east-bengal-opponents-afc-challenge-league-quarter-final-202411
Despite its fabulous success and its winning streak, the club has its fair share of controversies, particularly regarding the owner, authoritarian ex-leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, favourable refereeing, poaching national team players etc.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/apr/16/arkadag-turkmenistan-al-hilal-world-record-football
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-67627748
https://www.thesun.ie/sport/12764210/turkmenistan-arkadag-fc-guinness-world-records-al-hilal/
As I had mentioned before, Arkadag had won the Turkmenistan top division and were supposed to play in AFC Champions League II but they reportedly did not have the necessary club licenses. So, Altyn Asyr, who finished in second place in the Yokary Liga (Turkmenistan top division) behind FK Arkadag, were slotted in their place and played against EB where the emerged winners.
https://x.com/mohunbagansg/status/1852597100963647906
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will not fine or penalise Mohun Bagan Super Giant for their withdrawal from the AFC Champions League 2, the confederation announced on Saturday.
Mohun Bagan SG had pulled out of their AFC Champions League 2 away game against Tractor FC of Iran, scheduled for October 2, citing the “safety and security” of players.
The Mohun Bagan players refused to travel to Iran last month due to the volatile situation in West Asia, with Iran and Israel involved in a shadow war.
The Kolkata-based club, in a press release, stated that the AFC Competitions Committee decided to recognise the matters raised as an Event of Force Majeure (an unforeseen event). The decision of the AFC means there will be no negative impact on India's coefficient points.
However, Mohun Bagan SG will stay withdrawn from the league according to clauses 5.5 and 5.6 of the AFC Champions League 2 Competition Regulations, which states, “In the event that a Participating Club withdraws from the Competition, whether before or after commencement of the Competition (as applicable), the Competition shall continue with the remaining Participating Clubs and Matches without any replacement.”
“Any Participating Club that withdraws from the Competition after it has commenced shall have all its Matches cancelled and considered null and void. No points and goals in those Matches shall be taken into consideration when determining the final rankings in a group," stated clause 5.6.
As per clause 5.7 of the AFC Champions League 2 Competition Regulations, Mohun Bagan will not be penalised.
“Where any Participating Club fails to comply with Article 5.1 and withdraws from the Competition at any stage, the case shall be referred to the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee," the clause stated.
While withdrawing the club from their game against Tractor FC, Mohun Bagan cited the advisory of the Indian foreign ministry, urging Indians not to travel to West Asia due to the risk involved there.
https://thebridge.in/football/afc-not-to-penalise-mohun-bagan-for-champions-league-2-withdrawal-50454?infinitescroll=1
- Group participation fee $100k
- Performance bonus $40k
- Quarter Finals participation fee $80k
https://x.com/IFTWC/status/1852748646770733091
Total value in INR= 1.85 crore (approx.)