How Abdukodir Khusanov is putting Man City on a new map - sponsors, social media and support

Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov has been an important player for Pep Guardiola and has millions of fans

Manchester City's game with Salford City this weekend has not been picked for broadcast. But if Abdukodir Khusanov starts, rest assured that there will be plenty of people in Tashkent who find a way to follow.

Football is enormous in Uzbekistan, and excitement has soared after the country qualified for their first ever World Cup. One of the rising powers in Asian football is ready to showcase itself on the global stage in the US this summer.

Like many emerging nations, football is a prime way to illustrate their independence and Khusanov put them on a new map when he completed his move to City last year. Old ties are not easy to cut, and there was grumbling in the country at the way the £33.6m transfer was reported in Russia, which ruled Uzbekistan until independence was declared in 1991.

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The country has come a long way, and Khusanov has too from those first few minutes of his Chelsea debut last year. He melted in a baptism of fire, but has risen like a phoenix this season, first at right-back and then in the middle following injuries to Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiola. He was immense at Anfield on Sunday and only Nico Gonzalez (15) has started more consecutive matches than his run of 10.

That has been incredibly satisfying for the player and his team, who knew it was a huge leap to join City after just six months in Lens. A move to Newcastle was in the works when an injury crisis hit at the Etihad and Txiki Begiristain jumped to the front of the queue for Khusanov in one of his final moves as City's sporting director.

Khusanov won the battle to stay this season ahead of Brazilian Vitor Reis and he has taken his chances when they have come to secure his place in Guardiola's squad for future years. He may still be learning how to speak with teammates - there was a great video of Marc Guehi pointing to different body parts trying to ask him if he was okay after coming off injured at Liverpool - but the 21-year-old can speak the most important language when he is on the pitch.

His astonishing rise from the Belarussian league to Premier League title challengers in under three years has been mapped every step of the way by the 36 million inhabitants in his native country. Eyebrows were raised at City in January 2025 when the announcement of his signing proved more popular online than Omar Marmoush from Frankfurt, and in the two weeks after he signed the club's Youtube channel received more views from Uzbekistan than any other country.

To say Khusanov only joined halfway through the season and was not a first-team regular, there were 26 million views from Uzbekistan over the 2024/25 campaign - the fourth-highest total of any country - and there were also nearly a million web and app users from there.

City have seen more than a 500 per cent increase in the club's Uzbek fanbase in the last two years, they now have an official supporters club in the capital Tashkent and there has also been a ninefold increase in hospitality bookings from Uzbekistan since Khusanov arrived. Without even having to court support for their defender, the Blues have been flooded with support for him.

There is a feeling that Khusanov can do for Uzbekistan what what Park Ji-sung and then Son Heung-min did for South Korea, earning mass support as the standard bearer for his country playing at the highest level. One of the country's reporters travelled to the Arctic Circle last month for the Champions League game with Bodo/Glimt as coverage of him soars.

As well as seeing interest in Khusanov from media and social media, City have also secured a deal with Artel Electronics, a company based in Tashkent that has more than 10,000 employees over Central Asia. Rather than City reaching out into the region, Artel approached the club looking to make the Uzbek defender one of their poster boys.

“Today’s ‘New Uzbekistan’ is defined by openness, rapid development and rising expectations from people across the country," the company's marketing director Nodir Khikmatillaev said when the deal was announced. "As a leading Uzbek manufacturer, we feel a responsibility to match that ambition with technologies and products that meet global standards.

“Partnering with Manchester City – one of the world’s leading football clubs – reflects this new era for our country. Together, we want to bring world-class football into the homes of fans across Uzbekistan and Central Asia, inspire the next generation of talent and show what brands from New Uzbekistan can achieve on the global stage.”

Khusanov is seen as somebody who can lead Uzbekistan into their next era, and City are convinced he can be one of their top signings for years to come. Millions of people are invested in the journey, and that number is growing with each week.

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