Russian players from the Kazakhstan league will be naturalized for the national team ahead of the 2025 World Cup.

— Our club "Humo" is the backbone of the national team; we have initiated the process of naturalizing about seven to eight Russian players and plan to continue this process in the future. This is necessary so that by 2025 they can represent our national team. As for matches between Uzbekistan's national teams and Russian national teams? I believe the level would be incomparable, so such an occurrence is unlikely. Perhaps there will be matches with some Russian clubs.

It seems that we will head to the World Championship directly from the season, with the core of the team consisting of players from "Humo," and we will also bring in some players from our youth team, - noted Bahodir Gafurov.

To change sports citizenship, a hockey player who has not previously played for any national teams must compete in the national competitions of the country they plan to represent for at least two seasons and 16 consecutive months. Remember, "Humo" is a club in the Kazakhstan championship.