At the 40-kilometre mark of the Dushanbe–Khujand highway, surrounded by the mountains of the Varzob Gorge and close to the river of the same name, a new home for Tajik football has emerged. It takes around an hour to reach the centre from the capital, but the urban landscape quickly gives way to mountain slopes, clean air and scenery more reminiscent of a resort. Eurasia Football visited the facility during its expedition across Central Asia.
For Tajikistan’s new head coach Igor Angelovski, it is an almost ideal place to work. The national team can hold full training camps away from the distractions of the capital without wasting time travelling between a hotel, gym and football pitches.
The seclusion does have a downside. The mountainous terrain creates problems with mobile network coverage. Starlink satellite terminals have been installed to provide internet access, while a more permanent communications solution is also being developed.
The Tajikistan Football Federation’s technical centre officially opened on 23 June 2026. The ceremony was attended by President Emomali Rahmon and FFT president Rustam Emomali. The complex currently covers 6.2 hectares.
Planning for the project began in 2019. In February 2020, the FFT announced a tender for the construction of two pitches, which was won by Turkish company Hatko Sport. The pandemic delayed the start of construction, meaning the journey from the initial plans to the official opening took more than six years.
Two full-size international-standard pitches are already in operation. One has a Hatko Invicto R artificial surface certified to FIFA Quality Pro standards. The other uses the Hatko Hybridgrass system, in which natural grass is reinforced with synthetic fibres to withstand more intensive use.
According to the contractor, the hybrid pitch received a four-star rating following testing by ProPitch. The original tender specified dimensions of 104 by 68 metres for each pitch.
Some government reports have described the hybrid pitch as entirely natural. However, both the Tajikistan Football Federation and the surface manufacturer identify it as a hybrid field. A third pitch with a fully natural grass surface is planned for a site that has already been prepared.
Once the third field is completed, the coaching staff will be able to distribute workloads across three different surfaces and select a pitch according to the weather, the players’ condition and the requirements of an upcoming match.
The centre’s main building combines accommodation, training and administrative facilities. Modern single, twin and luxury rooms are available for players, coaches and guests. Some rooms have spacious balconies overlooking the mountains, river and Varzob Gorge.
The building also contains a modern gym, a restaurant and a café with outdoor terraces. Conference halls and meeting rooms can be used for theoretical sessions, tactical analysis, meetings and coaching courses. Lifts, offices, storage areas and other operational facilities have also been installed.
The official description of the complex also lists a medical and recovery unit, sauna, sports hall, indoor swimming pool, running track, tennis court and gymnastics area. The site is divided into sporting and administrative zones. Fifty permanent jobs were created following the centre’s opening.
The project was built with financial and technical support from FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation and Tajik partners. Its exact cost has not been disclosed publicly.
Varzob was designed as more than a base for one team. Tajikistan’s senior, Olympic, youth, junior and women’s national teams will all be able to hold training camps there, as will the country’s national futsal sides.
The centre will also be used to train coaches, referees, match inspectors and other football specialists.
Its pitches were in use before the complex officially opened. FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Rustam Emomali visited the facility while it was still under construction in May 2023. In June 2024, the centre hosted a match between the Tajikistan and Belarus youth teams.
In August 2025, Ballon d’Or winner Hristo Stoichkov attended a Tajikistan senior national team training session in Varzob.
The senior national team also prepared at the centre in March 2026. The first side to hold a full camp following the official opening was Tajikistan’s under-20 team. In July, the complex hosted a five-day FIFA course for 35 Tajik referees.
The scale of the project was recognised even before its completion. In June 2025, the Varzob technical centre finished third at the FIFA Forward Awards, an international competition recognising infrastructure projects implemented by national associations with support from the FIFA Forward programme.
The FFT is considering Varzob as a possible venue for Central Asian Football Association tournaments involving youth and women’s national teams.
The federation also plans to invite foreign clubs and national teams to hold training camps at the centre. Visiting sides will be able to stay, train and play friendly matches at a single location.
For Tajikistan, this creates an opportunity to turn the complex into a regional training hub. Its proximity to Dushanbe simplifies logistics, while the on-site hotel, multiple pitches, recovery facilities and peaceful mountain setting allow teams to operate without renting external facilities.
The next stage will involve expanding the site. The federation plans to build the third pitch and establish its own youth academy in Varzob. FFT secretary general Furkat Akhmedjanov previously told Eurasia Football that the existing infrastructure would make it possible to develop the academy to a very high standard.
Academy players will be able to live, eat, study and train in one place. The centre already offers accommodation, a gym, sauna and rooms for theoretical sessions. In the long term, Varzob is intended to become a complete development pathway — from the first steps of the country’s most promising children to youth and senior international football.
The academy is expected to be integrated into FIFA’s Talent Development Scheme. Twenty-five of the country’s most promising players currently train under Tajikistan’s FIFA Talent Academy project.
FIFA expects the Varzob centre to allow talented young players to live and develop together from an early age, gradually forming the core of Tajikistan’s future national teams.
Angelovski has been tasked with preparing Tajikistan for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. In his first two matches in charge, the team defeated India 3–1 before drawing the second meeting 1–1.
Following his first training camp, the Macedonian coach publicly thanked the federation for the conditions it had created — even though the complex was not officially opened until two weeks later.
Angelovski now has almost everything he needs in one place: international-standard pitches, recovery facilities, a modern gym, comfortable accommodation, rooms for tactical work — and mountains outside the window.
A paradise for Angelovski. Now he has to turn those excellent conditions into results.