Uzbekistan set to co-host CIS Cup

FootballAsia.com September 29 Uzbekistan looks set to host one of four groups for the next edition of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Cup in early 2005. Russian news website www.Gazeta.ru reports that the format of the pre-season tournament, which features clubs from the former Soviet Union, is to be revamped in order to revive interest in the competition. The new format will see the 16 competing teams – the league champions of 15 former Soviet nations and the Russian U-23 national team - divided into four qualification groups to be hosted in four different countries. It has been suggested that one of those four groups will be staged in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent and will feature the champions of the four Central Asian countries of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The group winners will advance to the final stages in Moscow along with the qualifiers from the three other groups in Russia, Moldova and Latvia. The CIS Cup was introduced in 1993 after the collapse of the former Soviet Union and has been held on an annual basis. However, the tournament has struggled to attract spectators and sponsors in recent years, prompting the change of format. The dates of the 2005 tournament have yet to be finalised.