CAFA consists of the national football associations of Central Asia, and runs competitions between national teams, and also controls the prize money, regulations, as well as media rights to those competitions. CAFA aims to develop and strengthen the game of football throughout the region by raising the standards and creating more opportunities for the Member Associations for further growth.
In June 2014, the association was in principle approved by the Asian Football Confederation and approved at the Extraordinary Congress in January 2015 during the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.[5][6] As a result, CAFA will be able to have representative member(s) on the AFC executive committee.
Members of the six nations met with AFC president Sheikh Salman on 10 May 2014 to talk about the possibility of creating a new Asian football zone. The delegations were invited by the AFC president following an initiative and proposed by Afghanistan and Iran.[8] At the extraordinary AFC congress on 9 June 2014 in São Paulo, the plan of the new zone was ratified by the congress.[9][10] It was subsequently approved at the AFC Extraordinary Congress in January 2015. CAFA's main headquarters after its foundation is located in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
In October 2023, CAFA and AIFF signed a memorandum of understanding which will facilitate the participation of Indian teams in the Central Asian tournaments.[11][12]
