2023 Tajikistan Higher League

The 2023 Ligai Olii Tojikiston (Tajik: 2023 Лигаи Олии Тоҷикистон, Russian: 2023 Высшая Лига Таджикистана) or 2023 Tajikistan Higher League, also known as 1xBet Higher League due to sponsorship reasons,^[1] was the 32nd season of the Tajikistan Higher League, Tajikistan's top division of association football.

Tajikistan Higher League

Season	2023
Dates	1 April – 18 December
Champions	Istiklol
Relegated	Regar-TadAZ Khatlon
AFC Champions League Two	Istiklol Ravshan
Matches played	110
Goals scored	268 (2.44 per match)
Top goalscorer	Alisher Dzhalilov (13 goals)
Biggest home win	Istiklol 5-0 Khatlon (10 May 2023) Istiklol 5-0 Khosilot Farkhor (19 May 2023) Istiklol 5-0 Regar-TadAZ (8 August 2023)
Biggest away win	Kuktosh Rudaki 0-3 Khosilot Farkhor (6 April 2023) Khatlon 1-4 Kuktosh Rudaki (25 April 2023) Eskhata 0-3 Istiklol (30 June 2023)
Highest scoring	Khujand 4-3 Eskhata Khujand (9 August 2023)
Longest winning run	(5 Games) Kuktosh Rudaki
Longest unbeaten run	(11 Games) Istiklol
Longest winless run	(8 Games) Regar-TadAZ
Longest losing run	(6 Games) Khatlon
Highest attendance	10,000 - Ravshan Kulob vs Khosilot Farkhor (10 May 2023)
Lowest attendance	100 - Khatlon vs Eskhata Khujand (7 April 2023) 100 - Fayzkand vs Eskhata Khujand (23 May 2023)
Average attendance	2,968 (19 August 2023)
← 2022 2024 → All statistics correct as of 18 December 2023.

Season events

On 22 February 2022, the Tajikistan Football Federation announced that the season would commence on 1 April, and follow the same format as the previous season. The 10 teams would play each other twice in the regular stage of the season, before splitting into Championship and Relegation groups where they would then play everyone in their group again, resulting in the bottom two teams being relegated from the league.^[2]

On 24 February, the Tajikistan Football Federation announced 1xBet as the new title sponsor of the league, as well as the Tajikistan Cup and Tajik Supercup.^[1]

On 10 April, the Tajikistan Football Federation announced the VAR would be introduced to the league for the second half of the season.^[3]

On 18 April, all five of the fifth round matches scheduled to be held on either 20 April or 21 April, where postponed until 28–30 June due to the original dates falling on Eid al-Fitr.^[4]

Teams

On 28 February, the Tajikistan Football Federation confirmed that 10 teams would take part in the 2023 season.^[2]

Eskhata

Fayzkand

Khatlon

Khosilot Farkhor

Khujand

Kuktosh

Ravshan Kulob

Regar-TadAZ

Dushanbe

Dushanbe teams
CSKA
Istiklol

Locations of teams in the 2023 Tajikistan Higher League

Team	Location	Venue	Capacity
CSKA Pamir	Dushanbe	CSKA Stadium	7,000
Eskhata	Khujand	Bistsolagii Istiqloliyati Stadium	20,000
Fayzkand	Hulbuk	Central Stadium
Istiklol	Dushanbe	Central Republican Stadium	24,000
Khatlon	Bokhtar	Tsentralnyi Stadium	10,000
Khosilot Farkhor	Farkhor	Central Stadium
Khujand	Khujand	Bistsolagii Istiqloliyati Stadium	20,000
Kuktosh Rudaki	Chorgulteppa	Rudaki Stadium
Ravshan	Kulob	Central Stadium
Regar-TadAZ	Tursunzoda	TALCO Arena	10,000

Personnel and sponsoring

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Sponsor
CSKA Pamir	Shamsiddin Kosimov		Joma	Formula 55
Eskhata	Igor Surov[5]		Joma	Bank Eskhata
Fayzkand	Jaloliddin Majidov[5]		Joma	—
Istiklol	Igor Cherevchenko[5]	Alisher Dzhalilov	Joma	Siyoma
Khatlon	Asliddin Khabibullaev[5]	Umarjon Sharipov	Joma	Parimatch
Khosilot Farkhor	Amin Subhoni[5]
Khujand	Numon Khasanov		Joma	Formula 55
Kuktosh Rudaki	Abdujabbor Marufaliev[5]
Ravshan Kulob	Tokhirjon Muminov[5]		Joma	Hoji Sharif
Regar-TadAZ	Aliyor Ashurmamadov[5]		Joma	TALCO

Foreign players

During the 2023 season, Tajikistan Higher League are able to register seven foreign players, with only five being able to be on the pitch at the same time.^[5]

The summer transfer window began on 1 July and is due to close on 28 July.^[6]

Club	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4	Player 5	Player 6	Player 7	Former Players
CSKA Pamir	Gerard Bakinde	Jean Gaten	Ngatu Ntengu Doirian	Akhabi Doniel Henri				Seyed Hossein Noorbakhshi Süleýman Muhadow
Eskhata	Vladislav Shevchenko	Roman Khibaba	Olim Karimov	Shakhzod Mamurdzhonov	Sanjar Rihsiboev
Fayzkand	Nnaga Akhanda	Bill Obama Arsen	Arthur Bougnon	Joseph Feumba	François Haignegue	Junior Onana	Mayen Maja Mayor	Prosper Gbeku Zufarjon Akbaraliev
Istiklol	Artur Kartashyan	Dženis Beganović	Ivan Novoselec	Mojtaba Moghtadaei	Cédric Gogoua	Senin Sebai	Joseph Okoro	Idriss Aminu
Khatlon	Enoch Aryeetey	Bonnah Derrick	Torsu Christian Dodzi	Kofi Dwomoh	Chris Emmanuel Kakou	Rustamjon Kuchkarov
Khosilot Farkhor	Yapequ Kapava	Franck Michael Nonga	Benjamin Asamoah	Prosper Gbeku	Aryeetey Roger			Saeid Asghari Torzani Milad Beyrampour Musisi Farouk Temur Mamatmurodov
Khujand	Tony Bikatal	Mehdi Amini zazerani	Ramazan Naniev	Dejan Tumbas	Khushnudbek Bozorov	Javokhirbek Rasulov	Bae Beom-geun	Layonel Adams Darko Bjedov
Kuktosh Rudaki	Mohammed Kamal	Anani Julius Kvasi	Abraham Odonkor	Mahdi Nourpourasl	Sundaya Longji Song	Temur Masharipov	Mukhiddin Odilov
Ravshan Kulob	Joseph Akomadi	Ocran Idan	Emmanuel Maabuah	Samuel Ofori (Defender)	Emmanuel Mwanengo	Yevhen Hrytsenko	Akobir Turaev	Chris Emmanuel Kakou
Regar-TadAZ	Prince Arthur	Kuaye Godson	Ramiz Begishev	Sardor Jakhonov	Anvar Murodov	Asilbek Temirov		Sheldari Arash

In bold: Players that have been capped for their national team.

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
CSKA Pamir	Amin Subhoni			Preseason	Akhliddin Turdiev
Eskhata	Khamid Karimov				Igor Surov
Fayzkand	Masoud Nazarzadeh				Jaloliddin Majidov
Istiklol	Alisher Tukhtaev (Interim)	Contract Expired			Igor Cherevchenko	18 January 2023[7]
Ravshan Kulob	Boir Gamberdiev				Tokhir Muminov
Regar-TadAZ	Hikmat Fuzailov				Aliyor Ashurmamadov
CSKA Pamir Dushanbe	Akhliddin Turdiev		17 April 2023	9th	Shamsiddin Kosimov	17 April 2023
Khujand	Rustam Khojayev	Resigned[8]	27 April 2023	6th	Farrukh Marofiev (Caretaker)	27 April 2023
Khujand	Farrukh Marofiev (Caretaker)	End of tenure	30 April 2023	8th	Numon Khasanov	1 May 2023[8]

Regular season

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Istiklol (Q)	18	12	4	2	42	8	+34	40	Qualification for Championship round
2	Ravshan Kulob (Q)	18	8	7	3	23	13	+10	31
3	Kuktosh Rudaki (Q)	18	9	2	7	30	25	+5	29
4	Eskhata (Q)	18	8	2	8	24	28	−4	26
5	Fayzkand (Q)	18	6	7	5	24	22	+2	25
6	Khujand (Q)	18	5	7	6	18	26	−8	22	Below for Relegation Round
7	CSKA Pamir (Q)	18	4	8	6	14	14	0	20
8	Khosilot Farkhor (Q)	18	5	5	8	14	20	−6	20
9	Khatlon (Q)	18	5	1	12	11	33	−22	16
10	Regar-TadAZ (Q)	18	3	7	8	17	28	−11	16

Updated to match(es) played on 10 September 2023. Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored.
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Results

Home \ Away	CPD	ESK	FAY	IST	KHA	KHF	KJD	KUK	RAV	REG
CSKA Pamir		3–3	1–1	0–0	0–2	0–0	2–0	0–1	0–0	0–0
Eskhata	3–2		1–0	0–3	1–0	2–1	0–1	2–4	1–1	0–1
Fayzkand	2–0	2–1		1–2	2–0	0–0	1–1	2–1	0–0	5–1
Istiklol	0–0	5–0	2–1		5–0	5–0	4–0	2–0	1–2	5–0
Khatlon	0–3	0–2	0–3	1–3		1–0	2–0	1–4	2–1	1–1
Khosilot Farkhor	0–0	1–0	2–2	0–1	1–0		1–2	3–1	0–2	1–0
Khujand	0–2	4–3	2–2	0–2	1–0	1–0		1–2	0–0	2–2
Kuktosh Rudaki	1–0	0–1	4–0	1–1	3–0	0–3	1–1		0–2	4–2
Ravshan Kulob	1–0	0–3	4–0	1–0	0–1	1–1	1–1	3–1		3–1
Regar-TadAZ	0–1	0–1	0–0	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–1	1–2	1–1

Updated to match(es) played on 10 September 2023. Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Results by round

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
CSKA Pamir	L	D	D	D	L	D	L	W	D	W	W	W	D	L	L	D	L	D
Eskhata	W	W	L	W	L	D	L	W	W	L	L	W	W	L	L	L	W	D
Fayzkand	D	L	W	D	W	D	W	L	D	L	W	D	D	W	W	L	L	D
Istiklol	W	W	D	W	W	D	L	W	W	W	W	L	D	W	D	W	W	W
Khatlon	L	L	W	W	L	L	W	L	W	L	L	L	L	L	L	W	L	D
Khosilot Farkhor	D	W	D	L	L	L	W	D	L	L	L	L	W	L	W	D	W	D
Khujand	L	D	W	D	W	D	D	L	L	W	L	L	D	W	D	W	D	L
Kuktosh Rudaki	L	L	L	L	W	W	D	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	L	L
Ravshan Kulob	W	D	L	D	W	D	W	D	D	W	W	W	L	D	D	L	W	W
Regar-TadAZ	W	D	D	L	L	W	L	L	D	L	L	D	L	D	W	L	D	D

Updated to match(es) played on 10 September 2023. Source: ^{[citation needed]}
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed

Championship round

Championship round table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Istiklol (C)	22	16	4	2	56	12	+44	52	Qualification for AFC Champions League Two group stage
2	Ravshan Kulob	22	9	8	5	29	20	+9	35
3	Kuktosh Rudaki	22	10	3	9	38	36	+2	33
4	Eskhata	22	10	3	9	30	32	−2	33
5	Fayzkand	22	6	8	8	29	36	−7	26

Updated to match(es) played on 18 December 2023. Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored.
(C) Champions

Results

Home \ Away	ESK	FAY	IST	KUK	RAV
Eskhata		0–0			1–0
Fayzkand			1–4	2–6
Istiklol	4–2				2–0
Kuktosh Rudaki	0–3		1–4
Ravshan Kulob		4–2		2–2

Updated to match(es) played on 18 December 2023. Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Results by round

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5
Eskhata	W	P	D	L	W
Fayzkand	L	L	D	P	L
Istiklol	P	W	W	W	W
Kuktosh Rudaki	L	W	L	D	P
Ravshan Kulob	W	L	P	D	L

Updated to match(es) played on 18 December 2023. Source: ^{[citation needed]}
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed

Relegation round

Relegation round table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
6	CSKA Pamir	22	5	11	6	16	15	+1	26
7	Khujand	22	5	11	6	19	27	−8	26
8	Khosilot Farkhor	22	6	7	9	17	22	−5	25
9	Regar-TadAZ (R)	22	5	9	8	21	30	−9	24	Relegation to Tajik First Division
10	Khatlon (R)	22	5	2	15	12	38	−26	17

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored.
(R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away	CPD	KHA	KHF	KJD	REG
CSKA Pamir		1–0		0–0
Khatlon			1–3		0–1
Khosilot Farkhor	0–0				0–1
Khujand		0–0	0–0
Regar-TadAZ	1–1			1–1

Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Results by round

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5
CSKA Pamir	W	D	D	D	P
Khatlon	L	P	L	D	L
Khosilot Farkhor	L	D	P	D	W
Khujand	P	D	D	D	D
Regar-TadAZ	W	D	W	P	D

Updated to match(es) played on 2 November 2023. Source: ^{[citation needed]}
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed

Season statistics

Scoring

• First goal of the season: Mukhammad Naskov for Ravshan Kulob against Kuktosh Rudaki. (1 April 2023)

Top scorers

As of matches played 18 December 2023^[9]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Alisher Dzhalilov	Istiklol	13
2	Azizbek Sultonov	Kuktosh Rudaki	10
3	Manuchekhr Dzhalilov	Istiklol	9
	Sundaya Longji Song	Kuktosh Rudaki
5	Ehson Panjshanbe	Istiklol	8
	Bakhtiyor Zaripov	Eskhata Khujand
7	Shavkati Hotam	Fayzkand/CSKA Pamir	7
8	Muhiddin Odilov	Kuktosh Rudaki	6
	Alisher Shukurov	Kuktosh Rudaki
	Senin Sebai	Istiklol

Own goals:

• Safialohi Nazarzoda – Khatlon vs Kuktosh Rudaki 25 April 2023
• Bonnah Derrick – Khatlon vs Istiklol 24 May 2023
• Yokubdzhon Akhmedov – Regar-TadAZ vs Khosilot Farkhor 4 June 2023
• Roman Khibaba – Eskhata vs Istiklol 30 June 2023
• Sulaimon Sobirov – Kuktosh Rudaki vs Khosilot Farkhor 12 August 2023

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref
Bakhtiyor Zaripov	Eskhata Khujand	CSKA Pamir	3–2	2 April 2023	[10]
Ehson Panjshanbe	Istiklol	Khatlon	5–0	10 May 2023	[11]
Azizbek Sultonov	Kuktosh Rudaki	Eskhata Khujand	2–4	18 May 2023	[12]

Attendances

As of match played 19 August 2023

By round

2023 Tajikistan Higher League Attendances

Round	Total	GP.	Avg. Per Game
Round 1[13]	12,200	5	2,440
Round 2[14]	5,600	5	1,120
Round 3[15]	16,900	5	3,380
Round 4[16]	7,500	5	1,500
Round 5[17]	22,300	5	4,460
Round 6[18]	13,600	5	2,720
Round 7[19]	19,200	5	9,600
Round 8[20]	16,850	5	3,370
Round 9[21]	10,100	5	2,020
Round 10[12]	16,800	5	3,360
Round 11[22]	18,750	5	3,750
Round 12[23]	18,100	5	3,620
Round 13[24]	18,700	4	4,675
Round 14[25]	3,800	5	760
Round 15[26]	17,300	5	3,460
Round 16[27]	14,300	5	2,860
Round 17[28]	17,850	5	3,570
Round 18[29]	14,340	5	7,170
Total	264,190	89	2,968

By team

Team \ Match played	1[13]	2[14]	3[15]	4[16]	6[18]	7[19]	8[20]	9[21]	10[12]	11[22]	12[23]	13[24]	14[25]	5[17]	15[26]	16[27]	17[28]	18[29]	Total	Average
CSKA Pamir	—	1,000	—	200	—	1,000	—	500	—	150	—		300	—	—	500	—	640	4,290	536
Eskhata	200	—	3,700	—	3,200	—	3,000	—	3,500	—	6,000	—	—	5,500	2,700	—	1,000	—	28,800	3,200
Fayzkand	—	—	1,000	—	—	200	—	1,000	—	100	—	600	—	500	200	—	850	1,500	5,750	639
Istiklol	1,500	1,500	—	500	400	—	250	—	1,000	—	6,200	—	200	—	—	300	—	—	11,850	1,317
Khatlon	—	100	—	1,200	4,000	—	—	2,000	—	7,500	3,000	—	1,000	—	—	2,000	—	2,000	22,800	2,533
Khosilot Farkhor	3,000	—	4,000	—	—	6,000	—	5,000	—	7,000	—	5,500	—	7,000	6,500	—	6,000	—	50,000	5,556
Khujand	—	1,800	—	3,800	4,500	—	2,600	—	3,500	—	2,700	—	1,500	—	—	4,500	—	4,200	29,100	3,233
Kuktosh Rudaki	—	1,200	—	—	—	3,000	—	1,600	—	4,000	—	5,600	—	3,800	3,900	7,000	—	6,000	36,100	4,011
Ravshan	6,000	—	6,500	—	—	9,000	10,000	—	6,800	—	—	7,000	—	5,500	4,000	—	8,000	—	62,800	6,978
Regar-TadAZ	1,500	—	1,700	1,800	1,500	—	1,000	—	2,000	—	200	—	800	—	—	—	2,000	—	12,500	1,389

Awards

Annual awards

Award	Winner	Club
Player of the year[30]	Rustam Yatimov	Istiklol
Coach of the year[30]	Igor Cherevchenko
Top goalscorer[30]	Alisher Dzhalilov
Foreign player of the year[30]	Yevhen Hrytsenko	Ravshan Kulob
Best goalkeeper[30]	Rustam Yatimov	Istiklol
Best defender[30]	Kholmurod Nazarov	Ravshan Kulob
Best midfielder[30]	Amadoni Kamolov	Istiklol
Best striker[30]	Manuchekhr Dzhalilov