Las Campeonas

“My name is Adelya Kurmaeva. I was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and I work at the Uzbekistan Football Association as the Deputy Head of the Competitions and Events Department.

I studied at Synergy University and have been lucky to work at some of the biggest football tournaments in the world. I was a Protocol Officer at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup, a Hospitality Operations Manager at the FIFA Club World Cup 2023, and a Guest Operations Manager at the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024.

One of my proudest achievements was passing the exam to become an AFC Match Commissioner. But for me, the most special moment was leading the Guest Operations team at the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan. Hosting a World Cup at home will always stay in my heart.

I grew up around sports, and even my sister works in football. For me, working in sports is real happiness — I enjoy what I do, and I feel lucky to be paid for it.

In the future, I want to help develop women’s football in my country and region. Together with the women’s department and players, we are working to make women’s football more popular and more visible. I believe there is a lot of potential in women’s sports, and I want to help young girls see football as an opportunity and a dream they can follow.”