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Claim: The official Facebook page of a popular sports radio station in Nigeria, Sports Radio Brila FM, shared a post claiming that the Uzbekistan national team players were gifted cars after securing their first-ever qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
Verdict: False. There is no evidence to support the claim that Uzbekistan players received cars. We also discovered that the image used to back this claim was AI-generated.
Full Text
Recently, Uzbekistan qualified for its first-ever FIFA World Cup after a goalless draw with the United Arab Emirates and a 3–0 win over Qatar. Following Uzbekistan’s historic qualification for the FIFA World Cup, reports claimed that President Shavkat Mirziyoyev rewarded the national team with 40 BYD cars, as seen here, here, and here.
One of the Nigerian sports media outlets, Brilla FM, shared a post on its Facebook page on June 11, 2025, with the caption, “The Uzbekistan national team players were gifted cars after securing their first-ever qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Not promised!! The vehicles were given immediately!! No be chochochocho!!!.”
The picture attached shows a stadium scene filled with spectators in the stands. Along the sideline is a long row of sleek black luxury cars parked, and a portion of the green playing pitch is also visible.
As of June 16, 2025, the post had 3,200 reactions, 78 shares, and 300 comments.
Some Facebook users reacted to the post by expressing their belief while using it to criticise the Nigerian government.
Okosi Matthew wrote, “Nigeria no go see this kind things o! Instead, they’re still owing our athletes, even after death. For example, Coach Christian Chukwu, a.k.a Chairman. R.I.P, Sir.”
Onyegbule Chidozie Jonathan commented sarcastically, “E be like say money dey Uzbekistan o… Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Prince Tupere Zibai lamented the neglect of Nigeria’s sports heroes, saying, “And our Olympic men’s football team that won Nigeria’s first gold and Africa’s first football gold at the Olympics are still waiting for the land they were promised since 1996.”
Many sports fans and local media outlets, such as News Central and Vanguard Newspaper, believed and published the claim. Given the rapid spread of the claim, DUBAWA conducted a fact-check.
Verification
DUBAWA reviewed the official match videos and post-match celebrations to verify this claim. Uzbekistan secured qualification during their game against the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, June 5, 2025, at Al Nahyan Stadium. They also played their final qualification match against Qatar on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.
However, no footage or trace of such a car presentation appeared in official match videos or post-match celebrations where Uzbekistan secured qualification. We also did not find anything related to this claim during the match against the UAE, nor the final qualification match against Qatar.
DUBAWA’s findings on the official X account and website of the Uzbekistan Football Association (UFA) show no announcement or pictures regarding the car gifts to the players. Instead, the UFA only announced general awards for the team.
Meanwhile, DUBAWA’s Google keyword search “Uzbekistan national team gifted cars after qualifying for the World Cup” shows that the widely shared image appeared more frequently.
The lack of coverage by journalists and the football association’s media team raised further doubts about the claim.
We subjected the image to Illuminarty, an AI-image detection tool, to verify its authenticity. The results indicated a 73.2% likelihood that the image was generated or altered using artificial intelligence. This score means that the elements of the image were likely artificially created or added.
Conclusion
The claim that Uzbekistan’s national team players were gifted cars after qualifying for the 2026 World Cup is false. Although the image is viral on social media, there is no official evidence to support the story. Also, we discovered that the image is AI-generated, and the Uzbekistan Football Association did not announce such a reward.
