“Arkadag” Football Club Wins Turkmenistan Cup 2025

“Arkadag” players won four trophies in a row for the first time. In the final, they defeated two-time AFC Champions League participant and the country’s vice-champion “Ahal” 2:1, adding the Turkmenistan Cup to their previous victories in the AFC Challenge League, national championship, and Super Cup.

The final of the Turkmenistan Cup was held for the second time in history in Arkadag city at a fully packed 10,000-seat stadium.

For “Ahal”, this was the ninth Turkmenistan Cup final, while for “Arkadag”, founded in April 2023, it was the third.

On the road to the final, “Ahal” defeated “Kopetdag” (3:2) and “Shagadam” (2:1), while “Arkadag” convincingly beat “Nebitçi” (9:1) and “Ashgabat” (7:2).

Before the final, the two teams met five times this season, and “Arkadag” won all five matches: 3:1, 3:0, 4:1, 1:0 in the national championship, and 3:0 in the Super Cup.

In the final, “Ahal” played without seven players who recently played in the AFC Champions League against Jordan’s “Al-Hussein”. Nevertheless, young players showed strong resistance against the current champions.

“Arkadag” equalized through a penalty in the 67th minute, and Shamammet Hydyrow scored the second goal in the 77th minute, finalizing the 2:1 victory.

The year 2025 was extremely successful for “Arkadag”: in May, they won the 2024/25 AFC Challenge League Cup, in September — the Turkmenistan Super Cup, then became national champions ahead of schedule, and now won the Turkmenistan Cup three years in a row.