The upcoming match on February 11 between Turkmenistan’s FC Arkadag and Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr Club in the AFC Champions League Two will be a celebration for the people. This was stated by the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan, Hero-Arkadag, during a visit to the capital’s Olympic Complex, where the match would take place.

Ashgabat’s Olympic Stadium, which seats 45,000 spectators, is the largest sports facility in Central Asia. The arena was built for the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in 2017. The upcoming AFC Champions League Two match will be the first official football match in the stadium’s history.

It should be recalled that FC Arkadag and Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr Club will play each other twice in the round of 16 of Asia’s second most important club tournament. The first match will take place in Turkmenistan, with the return leg scheduled for February 18 in Saudi Arabia. The winner of this two-legged tie will face the winner of the Al Zawraa SC (Iraq) – Al Wasl FC (UAE) pairing in the quarterfinals. In the other Western Zone quarterfinals, the winners of the matches Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan SC (Iran) – Al Ahli SC (Qatar) and Esteghlal FC (Iran) – Al Hussein (Jordan) will meet.

One of the greatest footballers of his generation, Cristiano Ronaldo, has been playing for Al Nassr Club since 2023. By the time of the matches against FC Arkadag, he will be 41 years old. He is a five-time UEFA Champions League winner, the 2016 European champion, and the winner of the 2024/2025 UEFA Nations League with the Portugal national team. Ronaldo’s biography also includes numerous records and trophies: he is a five-time Ballon d’Or winner and a four-time Golden Boot winner, the all-time leading goalscorer for his national team and in European club competitions. He is the only footballer to have won league titles in England, Spain, and Italy. In 2024, he became the first player in history to score more than 900 goals in official matches.