Football in Kazakhstan

Football in Kazakhstan is governed by the national body the Football Federation of Kazakhstan. The FFK organises the men's, women's and futsal national teams.^[1] Football is the most popular sport in the country, followed by ice hockey.^[2][3]

Football in Kazakhstan
Country	Kazakhstan
Governing body	Football Federation of Kazakhstan
National team(s)	men's national team
National competitions
Kazakhstan Cup
Club competitions
Kazakhstan Premier League
International competitions
Champions League Europa League Europa Conference League Super Cup FIFA Club World Cup FIFA World Cup (National Team) European Championship (National Team) UEFA Nations League (National Team)

History

Pioneers of the Kazakh football FC Yarysh of Semipalatinsk, 1914.

Kazakh football first appeared in Semey before World War I, when British merchants brought the game to the area. Among the early players of the game was writer Mukhtar Auezov who turned out for the 'Yarysh' club, the biggest of the time Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine. Teams soon followed in Pavlodar and Dzhambul, before the first official appearance of a Kazakh SSR representative team in 1928. By the 1930s Kazakh club sides were regularly participating in the lower ranks of Soviet football.

After World War II a regular league began in 1946 while a cup competition, previously held sporadically was instituted full-time in 1948. A permanent Kazakh SSR Football Federation was established in 1959. Leading club side FC Kairat Almaty went on to make history in 1960 by becoming the first Kazakh side to compete in the Soviet Top League and made further history in 1963 by reaching the semi-finals of the Soviet Cup, the best performance by a Kazakh team in the competition. They would go on to record Kazakhstan's first triumph in the Soviet First League in 1976.

No Kazakh footballer had represented the USSR until 1977 when FC Kairat defender Seilda Baishakov made his debut in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Hungary. Later, in 1986, his club would go on to add further to their honours by finishing seventh in the Top League, an all-time best finish for a Kazakh club. The country's Eugeny Yarovenko also added to the honours as a member of the victorious Soviet side at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, a Football Association of the Republic of Kazakhstan was set up in 1992 and soon accepted into FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation. The national team debuted soon afterwards and individual Kazakh competitions were established. The renamed FFK went on to join UEFA in 2002, ending their relationship with the AFC.^{[2] [4][5][6]}

Domestic competition

The main league competition in the country is the Kazakhstan Premier League, formed in 1992 from Zone 8 of the Third Level of Soviet football with other higher placed Kazakh clubs co-opted. A first division was added in 1994 and this competition is now organised on a regional basis and is fed into by a further regionalised second division. The Kazakhstan Cup is also competed for, while successful clubs gain entry to the early rounds of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.^[7]

League system

Level	League(s)/division(s)
1	Kazakhstan Premier League 13 clubs
	↓ 1 club ↑ 2 clubs
2	Kazakhstan First Division 13 clubs + 3 reserve teams
	↓↑ 2 clubs
3	Kazakhstan Second Division 9 clubs + 15 reserve teams

National team

Main article: Kazakhstan national football team

Although they participated in matches against other Republics of the Soviet Union, the Kazakhstan team did not make their official debut as an independent country until 1 June 1992, when they defeated Turkmenistan 1–0. Based at the Almaty Central Stadium, they are yet to qualify for a major tournament.

Champions during Soviet era (1936–91)

A Kazakh SSR championship was founded in 1936 with no Kazakh clubs competing in the Soviet Top League. The winners of this competition were:

1936–81

1936 – Sbornaya Almaty 1937 – Dinamo Almaty 1938 – Dinamo Almaty 1939–47 – no competition 1948 – Dinamo Almaty 1949 – Lokomotiv Zhambyl 1950 – Sbornaya Almaty 1951 – Metallurg Shymkent 1952 – Metallurg Shymkent 1953 – Metallurg Shymkent 1954 – Dinamo Almaty 1956 – Sbornaya Almaty 1957 – Stroitel Almaty

1958 – Spartak Almaty 1959 – Spartak Almaty 1960 – Yenbek Guryev 1961 – Avangard Petropavlovsk 1962 – ADK Almaty 1963 – Tselinnik Semipalatinsk 1964 – ADK Almaty 1965 – ADK Almaty 1955 – Dinamo Almaty 1966 – Aktyubinets Aktyubinsk 1967 – Torpedo Kokshetau 1968 – Yenbek Zhezkazgan 1969 – Shakhtyor Saran'

1970 – Stroitel Temirtau 1971 – Yenbek Zhezkazgan 1972 – Traktor Pavlodar 1973 – Yenbek Zhezkazgan 1974 – Gornyak Nikol'sky 1975 – Metallurg Shymkent 1976 – Khimik Stepnogorsk 1977 – Khimik Stepnogorsk 1978 – Trud Shevchenko 1979 – Khimik Stepnogorsk 1980 – Meliorator Shymkent 1981 – Burevestnik Kostanay

1980–81. Zone 7, 3rd level of Soviet football, including Kazakhstan and other Central Asian teams

• 1980 – Traktor Pavlodar
• 1981 – Aktyubinets Aktobe

1982–91. Zone 8, 3rd level of Soviet football, including only Kazakhstan teams

• 1982 – Shakhter Karagandy
• 1983 – Shakhter Karagandy
• 1984 – Tselinnik Tselinograd
• 1985 – Meliorator Shymkent
• 1986 – Meliorator Shymkent
• 1987 – Meliorator Shymkent
• 1988 – Traktor Pavlodar
• 1989 – Traktor Pavlodar
• 1990 – Vostok Oskemen
• 1991 – Aktyubinets Aktobe^[8]

See also

• Sport in Kazakhstan

References

1. Gilbey, Mark. "When Saturday Comes - Capital gains". www.wsc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
2. Paxton, Robin (6 September 2012). "Kazakhstan looks to Europe for soccer growth". Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
3. Fergus, Michael; Jandosova, Janar (21 April 2018). Kazakhstan: Coming of Age. Stacey International. ISBN 9781900988612. Retrieved 21 April 2018 – via Google Books.
4. Wilson, Jonathan (15 September 2015). "FC Astana's group stage debut shows how far Kazakh football has come - Jonathan Wilson". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
5. "Ames: A trip to see FC Astana's grand project". 14 September 2015. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
6. "A belief in west is best for future of Kazakhstan". 7 September 2012. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
7. "The Champions League Lands in Kazakhstan". 30 September 2015. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
8. "Kazakhstan - List of Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2018.

External links

• Official Kazakhstan Football Federation website Archived 2010-04-06 at the Wayback Machine