11 football clubs of Uzbekistan to be transferred to trust management
Businesses can take 11 professional football clubs in Uzbekistan, including Pakhtakor, Bunyodkor, Nasaf and Navbahor, into trust management. They must provide at least 20% of their annual expenses, while receiving benefits. The government planned to stop financing professional football by 2030.
11 football clubs in Uzbekistan to be handed over to trust management
Uzbekistan will announce a tender to transfer 11 professional football clubs to entrepreneurs for trust management, the
The clubs are Bunyodkor, Bukhara, Dinamo, Qizilqum, Navbahor, Nasaf, Neftchi, Lokomotiv, Mash’al, AGMK and Pakhtakor.
Under the terms, a club may be transferred to an entrepreneur or group of entrepreneurs willing to provide annual sponsorship funding equal to at least 20% of the club’s total annual expenses.
The move was provided for in a presidential resolution dated 24 March on improving sports financing mechanisms and expanding business participation in the sector.
Entrepreneurs who take professional football clubs into trust management will be eligible for a number of benefits. When calculating corporate income tax, a legal entity’s taxable profit may be reduced by the amount of sponsorship assistance allocated to finance the club. However, the deduction may not exceed 10% of the taxable profit.
Players at these clubs will be exempt from personal income tax. Their social tax rate will be 1%.
Entrepreneurs will also be able to obtain loans from commercial banks to acquire clubs or construct, reconstruct and carry out major repairs on sports facilities.
Loans will be provided for five years with a one-year grace period at an annual interest rate of 14%. Liquid collateral and a viable business plan will be required. However, buildings, structures and land plots on the club’s balance sheet may not be used as collateral.
In addition, entrepreneurs managing the clubs will receive a 50% discount on advertising their products and services on the central and regional TV channels of Uzbekistan’s National Television and Radio Company during broadcasts aimed at promoting sports.
Starting from the 2026 season, Super League clubs are receiving direct state budget funding for the first time: each of the 16 clubs will receive 35 billion soums, followed by 30 billion soums in 2027 and 25 billion soums in 2028. It was previously announced that by 2030, the government intends to stop financing professional football and transition clubs to market-based mechanisms.
The sale of football clubs held on the balance of government agencies was envisaged in a presidential resolution back in March 2023. Tashkent’s Pakhtakor was put up for auction in January 2024 together with a 24.1-hectare land plot. However, the privatization was subsequently suspended.