Tajikistan 2

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vs. Kyrgyzstan (1:1) | World Cup Qualifier | 2019 in Kyrgyzstan

Tajikistan is a great example for the FIFA mantra that "politics and sport do not mix", as the Tajik Football Federation is run by Rustam Emomali. He is the son of the president of Tajikistan, who assumed office when little Rustam was just seven years old. Sure, Rustam does have a connection to football - he founded Istiklol, one of the countrys most decorated clubs, and played as their striker for years then. He lifted a lot of titles with Istiklol, mostly because the referees treated the club of the president's son "favourable". Aged just 25, Rustam then became the president of the football association - and stopped playing for Istiklol for that reason - and quickly made a career within the Asian Confederation AFC and FIFA. And as sports and politics do not mix, as Infantino keeps praying, he is also a major general, the mayor of Tajikistan's capital, the head of Tajikistans anti-corruption agency (haha) and the chairman of the national assembly of Tajikistan. He wasn't elected for any of these roles.

Anyways, you are here to read about football shirts, not to be remembered how rotten to the core football governance is. So let's do that! I already have a rather perfect Tajikistan football shirt. A shirt that the German mayor to the country once got for me - and I am still super grateful for that! Yet, I had to pick this one up, when Chinese manufacturer Li-Ning briefly equipped the Tajiks from 2016 to 2019. For Tajik standards, it is a rather quirky design and, very much a reason to get this, it became available through Li-Ning shops in Tajikistan. One of these shops sold it to me for about 40€.