Sports insurance in Uzbekistan: who must insure the athlete?

A federation is preparing its team for official competition. The schedule is packed: training every day, sparring, training camps. Then an athlete gets injured — not at the tournament, but at a regular practice. Treatment, rehabilitation, possibly surgery. Who pays for it?

Usually that question comes up only after the injury has happened. Too late.

Professional sport in Uzbekistan is growing fast. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, the national team won 13 medals and placed 13th among 206 countries — the best result since independence. In June 2025 the national football team qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in its history, and in the summer of 2026 it made its World Cup debut in a group with Portugal and Colombia — Abbosbek Fayzullaev scored Uzbekistan's first-ever World Cup goal. The number of young athletes training professionally has doubled in nine years. Coverage for those athletes hasn't kept pace.

Injury isn't a hypothesis — it's statistics. NCAA research tracking US college sport shows the risk of injury on competition day is nearly 3.5 times higher than in practice: 13.8 injuries versus 4.0 per 1,000 athlete exposures. A study across Germany, Switzerland, and Austria found injuries in 75% of team-sport athletes. These are international figures — Uzbekistan keeps no separate statistics on professional sports injuries, but the nature of the risk is the same.

Who must insure the athlete?

First, forget an old rule. The law used to require athletes themselves to hold an insurance policy — that norm is no longer in force. The current law on physical culture and sport, effective March 25, 2026, places no such direct obligation on the athlete. Event organizers, meanwhile, are required to provide participants with medical assistance.

The main responsibility sits with the employer. Under article 503 of the Labor Code, an employment contract with a professional athlete must include the employer's obligation to insure the athlete's life and health, plus medical insurance. In other words, the club or federation — as the athlete's employer — must insure them. It's not a choice; it's a mandatory contract term.

A club preparing a team for competition needs a policy that protects its athletes from injury. One important nuance: a standard accident policy doesn't cover this.

What sports accident insurance covers

This is an accident policy built specifically for athletes: it covers injury, health damage, disability, and death occurring during sports activity. The coverage zone is clear — official competitions, training sessions, and training camps. The athlete is protected in each of them, as long as the incident is documented.

Sports are split into 7 risk groups covering 240+ disciplines: from chess, go, and esports (low risk) to combat sports, team games, and extreme disciplines — MMA, luge, parachuting — up to aviation sport (the highest group). The rate depends on the group.

Why doesn't a standard accident policy work? Because it fully excludes professional sport and official competitions. For an injury at home or at work, standard accident insurance is fine; for an injury on the field, it isn't. They solve different problems.

What it doesn't cover

Let's be honest — there are exclusions, and while they're few, they matter. The policy doesn't pay if:

• doping or banned substances are proven;
• the athlete was under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
• the cause is war, terrorism, natural disaster, or radiation;
• the case results from suicide or an intentional offense;
• the cause is a heart attack or a flare-up of chronic conditions (cardiovascular, diabetes, neurological);
• the cause is an infection unrelated to the injury.

Insurance packages on the state services portal (with fixed rates) aren't designed for professional sports risks — they serve a different purpose. For amateurs traveling abroad, there's a separate travel-sport policy. This product is for professional and amateur sport inside the country.

How the payout is calculated

The key advantage of sports accident insurance is the payout size. For disability — loss of working capacity — the insurance payout is higher than under a standard accident policy. Compare:

Percentages are calculated from the sum insured. The disability group is determined by the authorized state medical commission (VTEK) within six months of the accident.

The deadlines are clear too. You must notify the insurer within 30 days of the incident — that's the notification deadline, not the payout deadline. The payout itself comes within 15 business days of signing the insurance claim report.

Example. A combat-sport athlete (risk group 5) is injured in competition and assigned Group II disability. The insurance compensation is 80% of the sum insured, paid within 15 business days of the claim report being signed. If the same athlete sprains an ankle at home — that's not a covered event under this policy; a standard accident policy handles that.

Who needs it

Three groups:

• Clubs and federations — policyholders insuring the whole team under one group policy;
• Professional athletes under contract — those their employer is obliged to protect;
• High-level amateurs — participants in official competitions and training camps.

FAQ

Is an athlete in Uzbekistan required to have insurance? The law places no direct obligation on the athlete. But if they're a professional under an employment contract, the employer — club or federation — must insure their life and health (Labor Code, article 503).

How does sports accident insurance differ from a standard policy? In two ways: it covers professional sport and official competitions (which a standard policy excludes), and disability payouts are higher.

The injury happened in training, not competition — is it covered? Yes. Coverage includes training sessions and training camps; the incident just needs to be documented.

How does a federation insure a whole team? For a group quote, call EAI at 1147 — the rate is calculated based on the team roster and the sport.

Bottom line

Protecting the team is the club's or federation's responsibility — and it should be settled before the athlete steps onto the field. Get sports accident insurance online, or call 1147 for a team quote. And if you're deciding which insurer to trust, our article on how to choose one can help.