Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 7 August 2023, a meeting was held in Tashkent between Vice-President of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Aivaz Omorkanov and President of the Uzbekistan Ice Hockey Federation Bakhtiyor Fazylov.

The negotiations were held within the framework of a training hockey camp held in Uzbekistan, which was organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) together with the IIHF. More than 100 young hockey players from more than 30 Asian countries take part in it.

During the meeting, Aivaz Omorkanov praised both the level of organization of this event and the great work on the development of hockey, which was carried out by the Ice Hockey Federation of Uzbekistan in the short period of its existence. Aivaz Omorkanov also highly appreciated the modern hockey infrastructure of Humo Arena.

Taking this opportunity, the guest from the IIHF personally congratulated Bakhtiyor Fazylov on the historical success of the youth hockey team of Uzbekistan, which for the first time, having taken part in the Asian and Oceania Championship in March of this year, became the winner, and also thanked the head of the FHU for his great personal contribution to the development of hockey in the country.

As Bakhtiyor Fazylov emphasized, such victories make an invaluable contribution to the popularization of hockey in the country and arouse interest in it, especially among children.

During the meeting, a proposal was made on behalf of the International Ice Hockey Federation on the possibility of holding the next Asian and Oceania Championship among boys under 18 (U-18) in 2024 in Uzbekistan.

The head of the Ice Hockey Federation of Uzbekistan supported the proposal and expressed interest in hosting the tournament in Uzbekistan, noting that this event would give a good impetus to the further development of hockey not only in the country, but throughout Central Asia.

Let’s add that at present the national team of Uzbekistan U-18 is actively preparing for the new season and is holding a training camp in Omsk (Russia).

Also, in the upcoming game season, hockey fans can expect exciting events of the Pro Hokei Ligasy championship, in which the Tashkent team Humo will perform. The championship starts for our team on September 9 with an away series, and the first home matches will be held at Humo Arena on September 19 and 20.

In total, at least 50 games will be played within the regular season, 25 of which will be played on home ice.