The «Arkadag» players won against the Kyrgyz’s «Abdysh-Ata» from Kant - 2:1. The game took place at the final training camp in Abu Dhabi (UAE), where both teams were preparing for the new season.
Didar Durdyyev and Altymyrat Annadurdyyev scored goals for the winners. The defeated team scored their only goal in the 56th minute from the penalty spot.
For the current two-time champion and winner of the Super Cup of the Kyrgyz Republic «Abdysh-Ata», this was the last rehearsal before the upcoming AFC Cup playoff matches with the Taiwanese club «Taichung Futuro» on the 6th and 13th of March. Last December, this Kyrgyz club made it to the playoffs of the second most important Asian club tournament for the first time, winning in Group «E», which included the Turkmen teams «Altyn Asyr», «Merv» and the Tajik’s «Ravshan».
The «Arkadag» football club, which forms the main backbone of the national team of Turkmenistan and represents the city of national importance of the same name, was formed in April 2023 and already in the year of its debut in the national championship, it won the championship ahead of schedule and won the National Cup.
In the upcoming season, «Arkadag» is preparing to defend the championship title. In preparation for it, Vladimir Bayramov’s team, during the first training camp in Antalya, Türkiye, won against the titled North Macedonian club «Vardar» - 1:0, then lost to the Ukrainian teams «Shakhtar» - 1:4 and «Dnepr-1» - 0:1 , and during the second training camp in Abu Dhabi they won a strong-willed victory over the Russian club «Pari NN» from Nizhny Novgorod - 2:1 and played a draw - 1:1 with the reserve team of the Russian champion «Zenit» from St. Petersburg.
«Arkadag» will play the first match of the 2024 Turkmenistan Championship on the 7th of March at home against the vice-champion «Altyn Asyr». During the winter transfer window, the current national champion updated its squad somewhat. Forward Mikhail Titov, who returned to «Altyn Asyr», and defender Roman Galkin left the team. They were replaced by: goalkeeper of the Turkmenistan national team Rahat Japarov from «Ahal», midfielder Mirza Beknazarov and striker Shamammet Hydyrov from «Kopetdag».
It is also worth noting that on the eve of the new season, the «Arkadag» football club created a backup team «Arkadag-2», which will compete in the youth championship of Turkmenistan.
