The Premier League welcomed its first Uzbek footballer this week after reigning champions Manchester City announced the signing of wonderkid defender Abdukodir Khusanov from French side Lens, capping off a journey that took him from Tashkent, to Minsk, to Santiago del Estero, and to Lens.
Born on February 29th 2004, Khusanov started his career at Uzbek powerhouses Bunyodkor at the age of 7, rising through the ranks of the Tashkent-based club’s academy.
However, by the time Khusanov was 17, the Bunyodkor coaching team deemed him not physically strong enough to be able to break through the reserves and into the first team.
Khusanov’s father, former Uzbek international Hukmat Hoshimov, decided to look for other options to further is son’s career, feeling that some of Khusanov’s talents were overlooked by Bunyodkor.
That option came in the form of Belarusian club Energetik-BGU Minsk, who persuaded Khusanov to sign for them even though he had to wait a full year to make his debut as players under 18 are not allowed to play professionally in Belarus.
Finally making his Energtik debut in the 2022 season, Khusanov played 27 times and scored three times as the university club shockingly finished 2nd in the Belarusian top-flight. Khusanov then decided to stay on for the following season despite Energetik being slapped with a whopping 23-point deduction for a match-fixing scandal that affected the 2022 campaign.
Khusanov’s exploits did not go unnoticed, though, and the Uzbekistan U-20 national team made a last-minute call-up to enlist his services for the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup. Khusanov played all of Uzbekistan’s matches as the White Wolves sealed the title – and with it, a ticket to the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina.
Uzbekistan played most of their U-20 World Cup matches at the city of Santiago del Estero, losing to hosts Argentina before playing out a draw with New Zealand and seeing off Guatemala to qualify into the knockouts. The White Wolves were then eliminated in the round of 16 by Israel.
It was during that time in Santiago del Estero that Khusanov was spotted by Baptiste Favier, who was the scouting manager for Ligue 1 side Lens. The Blood and Gold had shockingly finished as Ligue 1 runners-up behind Paris Saint-Germain the previous season, and are looking for more options to bolster the squad for their upcoming UEFA Champions League commitment, and Favier immediately saw the potential that Khusanov had.
And with Energetik-BGU in turmoil following their match-fixing scandal, a deal was reached that saw Khusanov move to France for £84,000, which was a huge bargain considering the talent that Khusanov has at his disposal as well as his performances on the pitch.
Khusanov made 15 appearances in all competitions during the 2023/24 season, making history as being the youngest Uzbek in UEFA competitions as well as being the first Uzbek to play in Ligue 1. His presence gave competition to an already-established backline containing Kevin Danso, Jonathan Gradit, and Facundo Medina, with Danso singing praises on the young defender.
“If Khusanov came from a top league, he would have cost €100m,” said Danso, with former Lens goalkeeper Brice Samba adding, “He has shaken up the hierarchy in our defense. He is destined for a great future.”
And although his debut against Chelsea on Saturday was quite shaky – getting booked early on and creating the mistake that led to Noni Madueke’s early goal as well as being hooked-off on half-time – it’s only natural that Khusanov will learn from such mistakes. He’s still young and he has already drawn many positive comments during his time in France and with the Uzbekistan national team, and Khusanov will slowly, but surely, settle himself to the hustle and bustle of the Premier League.
The rise of Khusanov was also a testament of the progress made by the Uzbekistan Football Federation in nurturing their young talent.
Despite turning Khusanov away, Bunyodkor has their fair share of notable alumni, such as Rubin Kazan defenders Rustam Ashurmatov and Umarali Rakhmonaliev, as well as Eldor Shomurodov, the first Uzbek to win a European title with AS Roma back in the 2021/22 UEFA Europa Conference League.
Bunyodkor’s rivals Pakhtakor also had their own batch of alumni who have made a name for themselves, such as Jasurbek Yakhshiboev, who scored against Real Madrid for Sheriff Tiraspol back in the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League, Jaloliddin Masharipov, who played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi giants Al-Nassr in the 2023 season, Abbosbek Fayzullaev, who has established himself as a rising star at CSKA Moscow, and Mukhammadali Urinboev, who is currently futhering his footballing development at Brentford B.
There’s also the likes of Lazizbek Mirzaev, who is currently on the books of La Liga side Leganes after going through the ranks at fallen giants Lokomotiv Tashkent, and Husniddin Aliqulov, the Caykur Rizespor defensive lynchpin who was developed at Mash’al Mubarek and refined at Nasaf Qarshi.
The Uzbekistan Football Federation also formed two clubs in the top two tiers of their domestic league, with Olympic Tashkent in the Uzbekistan Super League top-flight and Olimpik-Mobiuz Tashkent in the second-tier Uzbekistan Pro League. Olympic Tashkent, in particular, was formed with the purpose of preparing the Uzbekistan U-23 national team for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, with the young White Wolves controversially overcoming Indonesia U-23 to reach the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup final, and giving established footballing nations in Spain and Egypt a run for their money in the Games proper with two narrow losses – 2-1 to Spain and 1-0 to Egypt.
Considering their recent rise, it came as no surprise that Uzbekistan are currently second in their 2026 FIFA World Cup third round qualifying group, 3 points off leaders and World Cup veterans Iran, and above West Asian powerhouses in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, the former having acted as hosts for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
With the White Wolves seemed to be primed for their first-ever World Cup appearance and with Khusanov, Urinboev, and Mirzaev joining Shomurodov in the top five European leagues – potentially opening the gates for more to come, the sky is indeed the limit for the rise of football within Uzbekistan.