From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Feb 2027
Eldor Nematov breaks a bone — 34 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 34 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match22 Feb 2027
Qizilqum are in real trouble now
Position 14, 4 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Squad22 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” G'iyosjon Rizaqulov and Qizilqum agree another 4 years.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to G'iyosjon Rizaqulov, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Feb 2027
A fracture rules Eldor Nematov out for 41 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Nikola Kumburović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad15 Feb 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Oleksiy Shchebetun and Qizilqum agree another 4 years.
Loan watch15 Feb 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Qizilqum, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Qizilqum would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Market15 Feb 2027
The name of Luka Ratković keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Qizilqum can pretend not to have heard.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A fracture rules Eldor Nematov out for 48 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Qizilqum had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Nasaf, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Nikola Kumburović falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Qizilqum would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Qizilqum will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Market8 Feb 2027
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Asadbek Baxshilloyev leaves Qizilqum the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Qizilqum have gone to Nasaf with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Qizilqum close the window on a squad of their own making
0 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Qizilqum are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Shahzod Turopov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match25 Jan 2027
Qizilqum are in real trouble now
Position 14, 4 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market25 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Qizilqum can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Qizilqum asked and Pakhtakor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad25 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Shahzod Rahmatullayev, and the manager let it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
A loan enquiry to Pakhtakor: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Oleksiy Shchebetun trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market25 Jan 2027
The name of Oleksiy Shchebetun keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Qizilqum have done the hard part with Navbahor, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
$63.0K was the most the club would pay and Obod were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Ilhomjon Vahobov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Nobody at Qizilqum will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market18 Jan 2027
The name of Luka Ratković keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Nobody writes a headline about a tutor. Nobody has to be told, either, what happens to a signing who spends two years being the man nobody can talk to at lunch.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Qizilqum can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
The deal with Pakhtakor is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Grigol Chabradze's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Qizilqum, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Qizilqum have done the hard part with Navbahor, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market4 Jan 2027
The phone has started ringing about Diyor Rahmatullayev again, and this time the name on the line is Bunyodkor. Qizilqum are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Diyor Rahmatullayev and Qizilqum agree another 3 years.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
A loan enquiry to Navbahor: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Islom Kenjaboyev asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Samandar Shukurullayev's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Boardroom4 Jan 2027
Open for business: Qizilqum enter the window
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match28 Dec 2026
Qizilqum sink to position 14
4 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad28 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Asror G'ofurov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
125% of the income goes out in wages at Qizilqum
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Market28 Dec 2026
The name of Oleksiy Shchebetun keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Shahzod Turopov has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oleksiy Shchebetun was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Nobody at Qizilqum will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Market21 Dec 2026
The name of Luka Ratković keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Qizilqum. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Dec 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Qizilqum, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 Dec 2026
20 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Shahzod Turopov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Grigol Chabradze's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Shahzod Turopov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Farrux Jo'rayev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match30 Nov 2026
Qizilqum are in real trouble now
Position 14, 4 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Qizilqum may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad30 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Qizilqum are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 142% of everything Qizilqum earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad30 Nov 2026
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market30 Nov 2026
The name of Oleksiy Shchebetun keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
Nikola Kumburović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Shahzod Rahmatullayev is on it.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Nov 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Asror G'ofurov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
Islom Kenjaboyev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Qizilqum will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match2 Nov 2026
Every point is an argument now for Qizilqum
Position 14 and 4 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages eat 142% of everything Qizilqum earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Nikola Kumburović is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market2 Nov 2026
The name of Oleksiy Shchebetun keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Nobody at Qizilqum will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Market26 Oct 2026
The name of Luka Ratković keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Qizilqum, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market19 Oct 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Qizilqum, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Qizilqum may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. G'iyosjon Rizaqulov is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Nikola Kumburović falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match17 Oct 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Shahzod Turopov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Jaloliddin Abdullaev to a room that had heard them before.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Qizilqum needed to.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market12 Oct 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad12 Oct 2026
8 new faces, and Qizilqum are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Samandar Shukurullayev's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Looking ahead12 Oct 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Mashal in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and G'iyosjon Rizaqulov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad12 Oct 2026
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
Looking ahead12 Oct 2026
Next up on the road: Mashal, position 8. The supporters who go will talk about it all week and the ones who do not will check their phones at ten to five.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match5 Oct 2026
Every point is an argument now for Qizilqum
Position 14 and 4 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match3 Oct 2026
It had gone 9 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Qizilqum are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Asror G'ofurov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages swallow 183% of the Qizilqum income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
Match3 Oct 2026
Three points for Qizilqum, 1‑0 the final word against Shortan in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.18, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match26 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Qizilqum's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Qizilqum has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Age has not caught Jaba Jighauri yet — 7.86
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.86 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Nikola Kumburović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match26 Sep 2026
A bad afternoon for Qizilqum against Obod
2‑3 to Obod, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad28 Sep 2026
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 2‑3 Jaloliddin Abdullaev left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Looking ahead28 Sep 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Shortan in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Sep 2026
Chastening afternoon for Qizilqum
A 1‑4 beating by Navbahor was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match19 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Qizilqum's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Qizilqum has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Jaba Jighauri, 34, rolls back the years — 8.21
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.21 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad21 Sep 2026
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Asror G'ofurov, and the manager let it.
Boardroom21 Sep 2026
Nobody left the Qizilqum dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑4 defeat, delivered by Jaloliddin Abdullaev to a room that had heard them before.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Beaten 4 times, with 3 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Qizilqum's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Qizilqum has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 12 combined actions and a mark of 6.77, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Qizilqum ran out of time with Navbahor. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A muscle injury and 14 days out for Islom Ganiev
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Qizilqum will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Sep 2026
Kolos come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Qizilqum did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
The clubs have shaken hands with Navbahor; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Qizilqum close the window on a squad of their own making
12 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Market7 Sep 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Qizilqum, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Sep 2026
8 new faces, and Qizilqum are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Suhrob Eshboyev
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market31 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Match29 Aug 2026
The wait goes on for Qizilqum
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Match29 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Shahzod Turopov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Jaloliddin Abdullaev to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to G'iyosjon Rizaqulov, and the manager let it.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A mark of 4.88 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Aug 2026
Jaba Jighauri had done his part in building a 3-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Pakhtakor were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
Match22 Aug 2026
No end in sight to Qizilqum's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Qizilqum has to find a result from somewhere.
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Qizilqum can pretend not to have heard.
Match22 Aug 2026
Beaten 4‑5, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Nikola Kumburović falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match22 Aug 2026
No clean sheets in sight for Qizilqum
4 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Ilhomjon Vahobov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Marked 8.23 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Aug 2026
AGMK ended it 0‑2. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Market17 Aug 2026
Lokomotiv come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Qizilqum did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Match15 Aug 2026
4 matches without a win for Qizilqum
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Qizilqum are no longer polite ones.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Viktoria Plzen have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match15 Aug 2026
0‑2 to Kokand 1912, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Age has not caught Jaba Jighauri yet — 8.12
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.12 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Market10 Aug 2026
Qizilqum say no — this time
The offer from Zhetysu for Shahzod Rahmatullayev was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Kauno Zalgiris keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Nikola Kumburović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Qizilqum asked and Javor-Matis said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match8 Aug 2026
Lokomotiv left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Sherzod Fayzullaev is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Islom Ganiev has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Sherzod Shomurodov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Aug 2026
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jaba Jighauri commits to Qizilqum for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Islom Kenjaboyev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Qizilqum, another week without a signature from Jaba Jighauri.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match1 Aug 2026
A 1‑1 draw with AGMK leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.