Physical culture and sports football club Merw ( tk, link=no, Merw bedenterbiýe-sport futbol kluby), also known as Merw Mary, is a Turkmen professional football club based in

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also call ...

. They play in the national top division; the

Ýokary Liga The Turkmenistan Higher League, also called Türkmenistan Ýokary Liga (Turkmen: ''Türkmenistanyň Ýokary Ligasy''; Russian: ''Высшая лига Туркменистана'') is the top division of professional football in Turkmenistan, ...

. Their home stadium is Mary Stadium.

Historical names

*until 1966 – Lokomotiv *1967 – Murgab *1968–1989 – Garagum (Kara-Kum) *1990-until now – Merw

History

In 1967–1969 and 1990–1991, the team played in the

Soviet Second League The Soviet Second League (russian: Чемпионат СССР по футболу (вторая лига), Soviet football championship (Second League)) was the third highest division of Soviet football, below the Soviet First League. The le ...

. The first big success of Merw FK after the collapse of the USSR came when they reached the final of the

Turkmenistan Cup The Turkmenistan Cup ( tk, Türkmenistanyň Kubogy) is an annually held football tournament for Turkmen football clubs, known as one of the most important national tournaments. The cup has been contested since 1993. The competition's most suc ...

in 1993. In the final, they lost to

Köpetdag Aşgabat The Köpet Dag, Kopet Dagh, or Koppeh Dagh ( tk, Köpetdag; fa, کپه‌داغ), also known as the Turkmen-Khorasan Mountain Range, is a mountain range on the border between Turkmenistan and Iran that extends about along the border southeast o ...

with a score of 0:4. A year later, the team were the bronze prize-winner of the

1994 Ýokary Liga The 1994 Turkmenistan Higher League (Ýokary Liga) season was the third season of Turkmenistan's professional football league. Final league table References {{DEFAULTSORT:1994 Yokary Liga Ýokary Liga seasons Turk Turk Turk or Turks may refe ...

and took part in the preliminary round of the

Asian Cup Winners' Cup The Asian Cup Winners' Cup was an association football competition run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The competition was started in 1991 as a tournament for all the domestic cup winners from countries affiliated to the AFC. The winne ...

1994/95 season. The next 10 years were not marked by significant progress, but in 2004 Merw FK became one of the strongest football clubs in Turkmenistan. Merw FK claimed the bronze medal for the second time in the 2004 Ýokary Liga and, in 2005, they won the Cup of Turkmenistan. Their opponents in the

final was

(the game finished 1–1 after extra time and Merw FK won 3–1 on penalties). In 2006, the team, for the second time, entered the international arena by taking part in the

2006 AFC Cup The 2006 AFC Cup was the third edition of the AFC Cup. Al-Faisaly from Jordan became the first side to win the competition two years in a row. Qualification The 'developing' 11 nations in the Asian Football Confederation were invited to nomi ...

and lost to the teams

Dempo SC Dempo Sports Club, or simply known as Dempo, is an Indian professional football club based in Panjim, Goa, that competes in the Goa Professional League. The club is owned and sponsored by the Dempo Mining Corporation Limited. Popularly known a ...

(2:2, 1:6) and

Al-Nasr Al Nassr Football Club ( ar, نادي النصر السعودي; '' Naṣr'' meaning ''Victory'') is a Saudi Arabian football club based in Riyadh. Formed in 1955, the club plays its home games at the Mrsool Park. Their home colours are yellow ...

(0:2, 1:4). Between 2007 and 2009, Merw FK played in the finals of the

three times in a row. They lost to

Şagadam FK Football Club Şagadam ( tk, Şagadam futbol kluby) is a Turkmen football club based in Türkmenbaşy, Balkan Region. The team compete in Ýokary Liga, the top division in Turkmenistan football league system. The club was founded in 1949 and hom ...

in 2007 (0:1), won in 2008 by beating FC HTTU (2:1) and lost in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

FC Altyn Asyr Football Club Altyn Asyr ( tk, link=no, Altyn Asyr futbol kluby), also known as Altyn Asyr Ashgabat or simply Altyn Asyr, which translates to "Golden Century", is a Turkmen football club based in Ashgabat. Founded in 2008, the club competes in t ...

(0:3). In 2008, Merw FK won the

Turkmenistan Super Cup The Turkmenistan Super Cup (Turkmen: ''Türkmenistanyň Naýbaşy Kubogy'') is an annual one-match association football competition in Turkmenistan organized by the Football Federation of Turkmenistan. This competition serves as the season opener ...

by beating the champion of Turkmenistan FC Ashgabat. In 2009, for the third time in their history, Merw FK won the bronze medal in the 2009 Ýokary Liga. In 2012, the club became the silver prize-winner of the 2012 Ýokary Liga.

Honours

Domestic

** Runners-up: 2012 *

: 2 ** Winners: 2005, 2008 ** Runners-up: 1993, 2007, 2009 *

: 1 ** Winners: 2008 ** Runners-up: 2005

Performance in AFC competitions

AFC Cup The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying ...

: 1 appearance :: 2006: Group Stage *

Asian Cup Winners Cup The Asian Cup Winners' Cup was an association football competition run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The competition was started in 1991 as a tournament for all the domestic cup winners from countries affiliated to the AFC. The winne ...

: 1 appearance :: 1994–95: Preliminary Round

Managers

Murad Bayramow Murad or Mourad ( ar, مراد) is an Arabic name. It is also common in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Turkish, Persian, and Berber as a male given name or surname and is commonly used throughout the Muslim world and Middle East. Etymology ...

(2005–06) * Merdan Nursahatow (2006–2008) *

Magtymguly Begenjew Magtymguly Pyragy ( fa, ''Makhdumqoli Farāghi''; tk, Magtymguly Pyragy; ; tr, Mahtumkulu Firaki; , born Magtymguly, was a Turkmen spiritual leader, philosophical poet, Sufi and traveller who is considered to be the most famous figure in T ...

(2008–2010) * Rahim Kurbanmamedov (2011–2012) * Rahmanguly Baýlyýew (2015–2018) * Mekan Nasyrow (2019) *

(2020–2021) * Rahim Kurbanmamedov (November 2021–)

References

External links

football for the Peoples. Turkmenistan
Football clubs in Turkmenistan 1991 establishments in Turkmenistan Mary Region {{Turkmenistan-footyclub-stub