Touch down at Almaty International Airport, and you are on the edge of the world. Situated on the border with Kyrgyzstan and just 300 km from China, the skyline is dominated by the Tian Shan mountains and the 4,979-metre Talgar peak. While visitors might expect to see the Medeu – the world’s largest high-mountain skating rink – they don’t necessarily expect a city breathing European football.
Yet, Almaty, a city of two million that bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, has forced its way onto the map. At the end of summer, Kairat stunned Celtic, qualifying for the Champions League on penalties after two goalless draws.
As fans in yellow and black celebrated becoming only the second Kazakh club to reach a European group stage, Kairat Boranbayev, the club’s president and majority shareholder, was hoisted into the air by his players in triumph.
Chelsea have signed teenage striker Dastan Satpayev (Photo: Getty)
It is a coincidence that he shares a first name with the club founded in 1954. Boranbayev bought the former railway team in 2012, saving them from obscurity in the second tier while he was still director of KazRosGaz, the Russian-Kazakhstani gas company.
Boranbayev concentrated on youth development. He poured millions into infrastructure, and the return on investment is staggering. Agent Ken Van Deyck, a regular in Kazakhstan, confirms: “They have a top-level academy and they produce a lot of talent.”
Today, over 160 alumni of the Kairat academy play in Kazakhstan’s professional divisions. Every year, roughly 25 graduates are ready for the first team, drawn from a pool of 3,000 children training across the 13 academies in the country.
The club’s boarding school system, for players aged 14 and older, ensures both athletic and academic growth leading to six academy graduates featuring in the team that defeated Celtic, including goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov, who made three saves in the penalty shootout.
The academy is the rock of the club according to Alim, a local supporter: “When Kairat Boranbayev became the owner, he brought a business approach and started from the foundation first, the academy, and then building some infrastructure around it. It was new for a Kazakh club.”
Kairat are the reigning Kazakhstan Premier League champions (Photo: Getty)
This success is not a surprise for Zarko Markovic, the former Kairat defender who is now a sporting director in Serbia.
“This is a very organised club with one of the best owners in football,” Markovic said.
“A guy who likes football and who likes football players. He makes a very friendly, even family connection with the players, always happy to help.
“It was his goal when he took over the club in 2012 to play the Champions League and I am very happy for him.”
This vision was funded by Boranbayev’s ruthless business acumen. His empire spans gas, pharmaceuticals, gyms, and dining – he brought the McDonald’s license to Kazakhstan in 2016. He is a charismatic figure who invited Kanye West to perform at his daughter’s wedding to the grandson of former Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev. With a fortune peaking near £450m, he was the country’s 14th richest man.
But his proximity to the former president’s clan became his liability. Following the “Bloody January” unrest of 2022 and the political shift under president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Boranbayev was targeted. Accused of embezzling 14.5bn tenge (about £20m) in a gas deal, he was sentenced to eight years in prison.
He was eventually released in November 2023 following a plea deal, returning over £120m in assets, gas companies, and real estate to the state. Now 59, the grey-haired oligarch is enjoying a remarkable rehabilitation.
Also serving as president of the Kazakh Paralympic Committee, thanks to football he has returned to the public eye – a scenario deemed impossible just months ago. His Tselinny Centre of Contemporary Culture, a hub designed to mirror his philosophy at the football academy, opened in September.
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For Alim: “the match is a celebration, Kairat’s Champions League run is a moment of pride. Fans gather behind the blue and yellow barriers, celebrating a milestone for the country.”