Which Oligarchs Will Take Over Kazakhstan’s Football Clubs
Photo: Orda.kz
Kazakhstan’s football clubs are being prepared for privatization. President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev has ordered caps on state funding and banned the use of public money to pay foreign players, Orda.kz reports.
In response to a parliamentary inquiry, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said several major businessmen and companies have already expressed interest:
- Central-Asian Power Energy Company JSC (Sergey Kan) may acquire FC Qyzyljar
- Freedom Finance (Timur Turlov) plans to build a stadium and academy for FC Shakhter
- Kaspi Group (Mikhail Lomtadze) aims to purchase FC Zhenis and develop football infrastructure in Astana
- TAU GROUP LTD (Islam Kozbakov) intends to buy FC Kaisar
Talks are also underway regarding FC Taraz, FC Yelimay, and FC Irtysh. To speed up the process, the government is updating its Comprehensive Privatization Plan for 2021–2025, which is currently being reviewed by state agencies.
While the clubs haven’t yet been sold, they continue to receive generous state support. In 2025, 34.9 billion tenge has been allocated for football — 31.8 billion for professional teams and only 3.1 billion for youth and grassroots sports.
Audits consistently reveal serious issues: between 2021 and 2025, more than a dozen inspections uncovered over 100 violations — inflated budgets, duplicate services, and inefficient spending. Signs of corruption were found in FC Aqtobe and FC Qyzyljar.
The Aqtobe regional prosecutor’s office identified the misuse of more than 250 million tenge, including unjustified player bonuses and inflated contractor prices.
From 2026, new regulations will take effect:
- Foreign players may no longer be financed from the state budget or quasi-public sector funds
- Akimats will be limited to 500 MRP (about 1.97 million tenge) in support per club
- Any public financing of foreign players will be strictly prohibited
In addition, the government will raise salaries for coaches in youth sports schools by 30%, allocating 1.8 billion tenge in the national budget for this purpose. Regional authorities will also be allowed to offer additional bonuses, especially to coaches working in rural areas.
Earlier, President Toqayev called for the acceleration of football club privatization, stressing that sports should operate according to market principles and that private investment is the only viable path for developing football in Kazakhstan.
Original Author: Ruslan Loginov
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