Football club «Arkadag» has successfully defended its title as Turkmenistan’s champion. The team, which represents the city of the same name with state status, secured the achievement ahead of schedule, with five rounds remaining in the national championship, after defeating «Ahal» 4–0 in the 23rd round.
The match took place in the capital at the Ashgabat Multifunctional Stadium and was played with the visitors enjoying a clear advantage. «Arkadag» scored twice in each half. Mekan Saparov opened the scoring in the 13th minute, followed by Ahmet Atayev in the 33rd. In the second half, Bayram Atayev scored in the 51st minute, and Rahman Myratberdiyev added the fourth goal in the 61st.
Following this victory, «Arkadag’s» players became mathematically uncatchable by their remaining rivals.
Football club «Arkadag,» whose players form the core of Turkmenistan’s national team, was established in 2023 and achieved a domestic double in its debut year, winning both the national championship and the Turkmenistan Cup. Notably, since its foundation, the team has not dropped a single point in official national championship matches. Last year, «Arkadag’s" players completed a quadruple: in addition to winning the AFC Challenge League, the national championship, and the Super Cup, they also claimed the Turkmenistan Cup. Now, for the fourth consecutive year, they have lifted the country’s most prestigious domestic trophy.
«Arkadag’s» success has been guided by head coach Vladimir Bayramov, a 46-year-old former Turkmenistan national team striker who previously won the 2003/04 Russian Cup with Grozny’s «Terek» and the 2013 AFC President’s Cup with «Balkan.»
«Ahal» and «Altyn Asyr» will contest the silver and bronze medals of the Turkmenistan Championship in the remaining matches.
«Arkadag» striker Didar Durdyyev continues to hold an undisputed lead in the race for the championship’s top scorer award. The leading goalscorer of the past four seasons has scored 22 goals, four of them from penalties. His closest challenger remains «Ahal» forward Suleyman Mirzoyev, who has 10 goals to his name, including two penalties.
