A team of referees from the UAE led by FIFA referee Yahya Ali Mohammad Hassan Al-Mulla will referee the match of the final qualifying round of the AFC Cup-2023/24 in the Central Zone, in which the Turkmen "Merv" and the Tajik "Khujand" will compete for a ticket to the group round, FFT reports .

Assisting the chief referee as assistant referees will be his compatriots Ahmed Saeed Ahmed Al Asal Al Rashdi and Ali Rashid Mohammed Al Jorn Al Nuaimi. The functions of the reserve arbiter will be performed by Sultan Mohammed Saleh Yousif Al-Hammadi from the United Arab Emirates. Mahyub Sadeq from Palestine will inspect the work of the referee team. Mohammed Abdullah Nazmi Mango from Jordan has been appointed match commissioner. Security at the stadium will be supervised by AFC security officer Rahul Parashar from India.

It should be noted that the playoff match of the AFC Cup-2023/24 "Khujand" - "Merv" will be held on Tuesday, August 22, at the stadium "20th Anniversary of Independence of Tajikistan" in Khujand. The meeting will begin at 16:30 Ashgabat time.

Earlier, Merv defeated the Kyrgyz Alai with a minimum score in the preliminary round of the AFC Cup-2023-24. The meeting was held at the 10,000-seat Sport Toplumy stadium in Mary and ended with a score of 1:0 in favor of the home team.

In case of success at the playoff stage of the AFC Cup, the football club "Merv" will have the right to play in the group stage of the tournament in the Central zone, along with the clubs "Ravshan" (Tajikistan), "Altyn Asyr" (Turkmenistan) and "Abdysh-Ata" (Kyrgyzstan).

The group round of the 2023/24 AFC Cup in the Central Zone will begin on September 20 and end on December 14. Only the winner of the group will advance to the next stage of the tournament.