Boxer from Turkmenistan Hursand Imankuliev won a split decision over Ziyoidin Tohirov from Uzbekistan, continuing his unbeaten streak in his professional career. He achieved this success in the weight category up to 66.6 kg.

The four-round fight took place as part of the Fight Nights Boxing evening in the capital of Kazakhstan. For Imankuliev, this victory was the third in his professional career, which allowed him to maintain an impeccable record (3-0).

His opponent, Uzbek boxer Ziyoidin Tohirov, suffered his sixth defeat in his professional career, and his current record now stands at 3 wins and 6 losses.

More than 350 schoolchildren participated in the Turkmenistan Youth Chess Championship in classical, rapid, and blitz chess, which took place from December 16 to 22 at the Specialized Chess and Checkers School in the capital. The competitions were organized in categories up to 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17 years old, in 9 rounds according to the Swiss system.

Athletes from Ashgabat, Arkadag, Ahal, Lebap, Mary, and Dashoguz regions participated in the competitions. For the first time, a team from the first private professional chess academy 'Küşt Älemi' was also registered.

According to the press service of the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan, representatives of the Lebap region performed the best, taking first place in the overall team standings with 67 medals out of a possible 108. Of these, 27 were gold.

In second place in the medal standings were schoolchildren from Ashgabat, who won 15 medals, 4 of which were gold. The Mary team took third place, also with 15 medals, but only two of them were gold. Next were the chess players from the country's first private academy 'Küşt Älemi' (6 medals, 2 of which were gold), followed by representatives of the Dashoguz region (4 medals, 1 gold) and representatives of Ahal with a single bronze.

'In addition to cups, medals, and diplomas, the winners were also awarded valuable gifts kindly provided by the sponsors of the youth tournament: the marketplace Ynamdar, the insurance company “Resmi Kepil”, the plastic products manufacturer “Innovapak”, the chess academy “Küşt Älemi”, the robotics center “ImdatBot”, the marketplace “ALSAT”, and the media platform “Orient”,' the CFT reported.

It was also noted that in 2025, the Chess Federation plans to hold more than 30 tournaments across Turkmenistan, with over 100 sets of medals to be awarded, including a new series of Grand Prix tournaments to be organized in each region of the country.

The decisive match of the Turkmenistan Football Cup between the teams 'Arkadag' and 'Ahal' will take place on December 23. The match will be held at the 'Ashgabat' stadium and will start at 15:00, reports the FFT press service.

The match will be officiated by a team of referees led by Berdymammed Atdiyev from Tejen. He will be assisted by assistants – Ahmet Begnazarov (Mary), Yusup Jumamuradov (Ashgabat). The reserve referee is Eziz Yazmuradov. The match inspector is Eldar Ramazanov, and the commissioner is Maksat Seyitkuliev (all from Ashgabat).

'Arkadag' is the current holder of the Turkmenistan Cup. In last year's final, Vladimir Bayramov's team defeated 'Ahal' (3:0).

It is worth noting that in the semifinals of the Turkmenistan Cup, 'Arkadag' twice defeated Balkanabat's 'Nebitci' with a total score of 12:4, while in the other semifinal, 'Ahal' was declared the winner, having been awarded technical victories with a score of 3:0 in both matches against 'Altyn Asyr.'

The Turkmen Hockey Team Will Start at the IX Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, with a Match Against India on February 4, 2025.

The team has been placed in Group "C," where they will also play against teams from Macau and Hong Kong. This was reported by the newspaper "Neutral Turkmenistan."

According to the Chairman of the Hockey Federation of Turkmenistan, Jora Khudayberdiyev, the hockey tournament will begin a few days before the official opening of the Games due to the complex system for determining the winner. After the opening match against India, the Turkmen hockey players will face the Macau team on February 5, and will conclude the group stage with a game against Hong Kong on February 9.

If they perform successfully in the group, the Turkmen team will have the opportunity to compete for medals in playoff matches with teams from other divisions, including the first and top divisions.

It is worth noting that at the previous Asian Winter Games in 2017 in Sapporo, Japan, the Turkmenistan team achieved an impressive result, winning gold medals. The team secured convincing victories over Malaysia (9:2), Macau (16:0), and Indonesia (12:2), and defeated Kyrgyzstan 7:3 in the final.

To prepare for the upcoming tournament, the Hockey Federation of Turkmenistan plans to attract a highly qualified foreign specialist. Negotiations are currently underway to invite one of the coaches from the Russian club "Ak Bars" with the assistance of the Organization for the Development of Hockey in Islamic Countries (ORHIS).

The matches of the jubilee, tenth Turkmenistan Ice Hockey Championship have begun at the ice arena of the Ashgabat Winter Sports Center "Galkan". Six teams are participating in the tournament, which will compete for medals in a two-round system. This was announced by the Chairman of the Hockey Federation of Turkmenistan Jora Hudayberdyev, the newspaper "Neutral Turkmenistan" reports.

The main favorite of the competition, the publication notes, is the team "Galkan" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkmenistan, which has won all the previous nine national championships. According to the Chairman of the Hockey Federation of Turkmenistan, Jora Hudaberdyev, the current champions have every chance to retain the championship title, since most of the team's players are part of the national team.

This year, "Galkan" has already demonstrated a high level of play, winning the international tournament among club teams, which was held in April in Turkmenistan with the participation of teams from 10 countries, including clubs from Belarus and Russia.

The teams "Şir", "Oguzhan", "Nesil", "Watançy" and "Merdana" will also compete for medals in the national championship. The championship will last until the middle of next month, all matches will be held at the ice arena of the "Galkan" Winter Sports Center. The tournament was organized by the Hockey Federation of Turkmenistan and the State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports with the assistance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

From December 12 to 16, the Open Championship of Ashgabat and the Cup of Turkmenistan in Traditional Karate were held in the sports hall of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports, a representative of the federation told Turkmenportal.

The event was organized through the joint efforts of the National Federation of Traditional Karate of Turkmenistan and the State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports of the country.

The competitions brought together the strongest athletes, demonstrating high skill in traditional karate.

Details about the winners and the results of the tournament will be published soon.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino met with the head of the Football Federation of Turkmenistan, Guvanchmuhammet Ovekov, in Doha. During the meeting, they discussed the development of football in Turkmenistan and possible support from FIFA for future federation projects.

As part of the meeting, the president of the Turkmen federation presented Infantino with a special gift – a traditional handmade Turkmen carpet featuring a portrait of the FIFA president against the backdrop of the organization's symbols and the national flag of Turkmenistan.

"It was a pleasure to meet with the president of the Football Federation of Turkmenistan, Guvanch Ovekov, in Doha and learn about the excellent work he is doing to develop football in his country. We discussed future development projects and how FIFA can continue to support President Ovekov and his team's plans to develop football in Turkmenistan," Infantino wrote on his social media.

The Turkmen delegation, led by federation president Guvanchmuhammet Ovekov, made a working visit to the capital of Qatar, where they held a number of important meetings on football development.

Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior of Real Madrid has been named the best player of 2024 by the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA).

Other nominees included Real Madrid players Dani Carvajal (Spain), Federico Valverde (Uruguay), Jude Bellingham (England), Kylian Mbappé (France, formerly of PSG), as well as Erling Haaland (Norway), Rodri (Spain, both from Manchester City), Florian Wirtz (Germany, Bayer Leverkusen), and Lamine Yamal (Spain, Barcelona). Former Real Madrid player Toni Kroos (Germany), who retired after the European Championship, was also on the list of contenders.

In October, Vinícius finished second in the voting for the Ballon d'Or, awarded by France Football. The prize went to Spanish midfielder Rodri of Manchester City.

In the 2023/24 season, Vinícius became the Spanish champion with Real Madrid. The Spanish club also won the Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup. At the Copa América held in the summer, the Brazilian national team with Vinícius did not reach the semifinals, losing in the quarterfinals to Uruguay (0:0, 2:4 on penalties).

The award was established in 2016. Vinícius won this prize for the first time. Previous FIFA Best Player winners include Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, 2016, 2017), Luka Modrić (Croatia, 2018), Robert Lewandowski (Poland, 2020, 2021), and Lionel Messi (Argentina, 2019, 2022, 2023).

In other categories, Aitana Bonmatí from Barcelona was named the best player in women's football, and Carlo Ancelotti was named the best coach. The award for the most beautiful goal went to Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United, and the best goalkeepers were Emiliano Martínez and Alyssa Naeher.

Midfielder of the Italian "Atalanta" and the Nigerian national team Ademola Lookman was recognized as the best African footballer in 2024 at the CAF Awards ceremony, which took place on December 16 in Morocco.
Lookman, 27, helped "Atalanta" win the Europa League with a hat-trick in the final against "Bayer" Leverkusen.

His competitors for the title of best footballer were Simon Adingra (Brighton, Cote d'Ivoire), Serou Guirassi (Borussia Dortmund, Guinea), Achraf Hakimi (PSG, Morocco) and Ronwen Williams (Mamelodi Sundowns) , South Africa).

The coach of the year award was Emers Fahe, head coach of the Ivory Coast team that won the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

The “Golden Arrow of Diplomacy” archery tournament, dedicated to the 29th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s neutrality, ended in Ashgabat. About 40 representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations accredited in Turkmenistan took part in the friendly competition.

The tournament was organized by the National Archery Federation of Turkmenistan and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea. The competition took place in a friendly atmosphere and demonstrated the high level of sportsmanship of diplomats.

In the men's category, the second secretary of the Russian Embassy, Vadim Yakovlev, won. Patrick Ryanke (USA) took second place, and Anton Goncharok (WHO, Turkmenistan) took third place. Among the women, Katerina Ford from the US Embassy took the lead. Silver went to Minkung Chai from Korea, bronze went to Mihaiko Sasaki from Japan.

The organizers thanked the sponsors of the event: the companies "Aktam", "Resmi Kepil", "Archalyk", "Ugur" and the Korean restaurant "Wok Food".

The tournament not only revealed the best archers among diplomats, but also emphasized the role of sport as an effective tool of international diplomacy and strengthening friendly relations between countries.

A seminar on improving the qualifications of football coaches and referees was held in the assembly hall of the Committee for Physical Culture and Sports of the Dashoguz velayat.

The event, organized by the Football Federation of Turkmenistan and the Committee for Physical Culture and Sports of the Dashoguz velayat, was attended by more than 50 coaches and referees from all etraps of the northern region of the country.

The training seminar was held under the guidance of the instructor of the Football Federation of Turkmenistan, international category referee, honored coach of the country Allabergen Sapaev and international category referee Bakhtiyar Atajanov, who familiarized football referees and coaches of children's sports schools with the latest rules of the game of football and modern methods of the training process.

Chairman of the Football Federation of Turkmenistan Guvanchmuhammed Ovekov and FFT General Secretary Serdar Geldiyev held a video conference with representatives of the academy of the football club “Villarreal”, which plays in the top league of the Spanish championship.

During the meeting, issues of experience exchange and cooperation opportunities in the development of children's and youth football were discussed. Special attention was paid to the exchange of experience in the field of coaching education, the FFT press service reports.