The Football Federation Cup of Turkmenistan has started in Ashgabat, bringing together eight teams.

Seven clubs from the top division and the Turkmenistan U20 national youth team are competing for the prestigious trophy. In the first stage, the teams have been divided into two groups. Group A includes “Kopetdag”, “Ahal”, “Shagadam”, and “Nebitchi”, while Group B consists of “Arkadag”, “Ashgabat”, “Merv”, and the Turkmenistan U20 national team.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals. The winners of the semifinals will compete for the main prize in the final, while the losing teams will face each other in a match for third place to determine the bronze medalist of the tournament.

The teams that finish third in their groups will play a match for 5th–6th place, while the teams finishing last will compete for 7th–8th places.

All matches of the FFT Cup 2026 are being held at the central arena of the multifunctional Ashgabat Stadium.

In the opening match of the tournament, “Kopetdag” from Ashgabat defeated “Nebitchi” from Balkanabat 1–0 and, with 3 points, took the lead in Group A. In the other match of the group, “Ahal” and “Shagadam” from Turkmenbashi played to a 0–0 draw.

In Group B, “Arkadag” leads with 3 points after a convincing 4–0 victory over “Ashgabat”. The Turkmenistan U20 national team and “Merv” each earned 1 point after drawing 2–2 with each other.

The winner of the Federation Cup of Turkmenistan 2026 will be determined on March 12. Last year, the prestigious trophy was won by “Arkadag”, who triumphed in a single round-robin tournament held in the Babarap gengeshlik of the Gokdepe etrap with the participation of six top-division clubs.