"Is There Corruption Behind This?" - Senator on Football

Senator Darkhan Kydyrali criticized the Kazakhstan Football Federation for financial opacity, Orda.kz reports.

At the Senate plenary session, he read his parliamentary inquiry addressed to the Prime Minister and the Prosecutor General.

Kydyrali is concerned about the growing number of scandals surrounding domestic football.

The matches between Atyrau-Aqtobe and Atyrau-Astana have upset many Kazakhstanis. The decisions on who to award the victory to are causing complaints from fans. And the question arises: is there corruption behind this?said the senator.

Kydyrali noted that the salary of the national team's head coach is several times higher than the salaries of coaches of leading European teams. Under his leadership, the team did not score a single goal.

How much his salary actually is is a secret. Who does the Football Federation keep this information from? They also do not disclose foreign players' salaries, who play for local football teams financed from local budgets. This year, they set a limit on foreign players. But sometimes we see 11 foreign players on the field. There are many complaints about the Premier League, Darkhan Kydyrali emphasized.

As the senator noted, the Football Federation's budget is 10 billion tenge.

But there is no public information on where these funds are directed. If we consider that regional branches are allocated three to five million tenge, then what are the remaining funds spent on?

The country has yet to resolve the accessibility of children's football. According to the senator, in the villages, "there is not even a football field, let alone a football school."

Kydyrali believes that indoor football arenas are necessary, considering the regions' climatic features. 

In Uzbekistan and Georgia, significant results have been achieved through support for children's football and development of infrastructure. And in Kazakhstan, over 30 years of independence, two stadiums have been built. One of them was the Turkestan Arena, built at a considerable cost, which closed after one game. The Astana Arena underwent major repairs. Our other stadiums are old and do not even meet the minimum UEFA requirements. Why aren't stadiums being built in the regions? Kydyrali says.

Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova