2026 Kazakhstan Premier League

Kazakhstan Premier League

Season	2026
Dates	March 2026 - October 2026
← 2025 2027 →

The 2026 Kazakhstan Premier League was the 35th season of the Kazakhstan Premier League, the highest football league competition in Kazakhstan.

Overview

For the 2026 season, the Kazakhstan Premier League will expand from 14 to 16 teams. This expansion was officially ratified by the Kazakhstan Football Federation (KFF) and the Professional Football League of Kazakhstan (QFL) as part of a long-term strategy to increase the professionalization of the sport and enhance regional representation across the country. ^[1]

To facilitate the increase in participants, a specific promotion and relegation format was applied to the 2025 season:

• Only one team (the bottom-placed club) was relegated from the Premier League to the First Division. ^[2]
• The top three teams from the Kazakhstan First Division earned direct promotion to the Premier League for 2026. ^[3]

The expansion marks a return to a larger league format, which was previously reduced due to infrastructure and financial licensing requirements. Under the new 16-team structure, the KFF has introduced stricter stadium and financial criteria to ensure the sustainability of the newly promoted clubs. ^[4]

Teams

Following the conclusion of the 2025 season, Turan were the only club relegated to the Kazakhstan First Division after finishing in 14th place (last). This limited relegation was a one-time adjustment to allow for the league's expansion from 14 to 16 teams for the 2026 campaign. ^[5]

To fill the expanded roster, three clubs were promoted from the Kazakhstan First Division:

• Caspiy – The champions of the 2025 First Division, returning to the top flight after a two-year absence.
• Irtysh Pavlodar – The runners-up, marking the historic return of the five-time Kazakhstan champions to the Premier League. ^[6]
• Altai – The third-place finishers, securing the final promotion slot under the new expansion rules. ^[7]

Team overview

Aktobe

Altai

Astana

Atyrau

Elimai

Irtysh

Jenis

Caspiy

Kairat

Kaisar

Kyzylzhar

Okzhetpes

Ordabasy

Tobol

Ulytau

Zhetysu

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Locations of teams in the 2026 Kazakhstan Premier League

Team	Location	Venue	Capacity
Altai	Oskemen	Vostok Stadium	8,500
Aktobe	Aktobe	Central Stadium	12,729
Astana	Astana	Astana Arena	30,200
Atyrau	Atyrau	Munaishy Stadium	8,900
Elimai	Semey	Spartak Stadium	8,000
Jenis	Astana	Astana Arena	30,200
Irtysh	Pavlodar	Central Stadium	12,000
Kairat	Almaty	Central Stadium	23,804
Kaisar	Kyzylorda	Gany Muratbayev Stadium	7,500
Kyzylzhar	Petropavl	Karasai Stadium	11,000
Okzhetpes	Kokshetau	Torpedo Stadium	4,100
Ordabasy	Shymkent	Kazhymukan Munaitpasov Stadium	20,000
Tobol	Kostanay	Central Stadium	9,500
Ulytau	Jezkazgan	Metallurg Stadium	2,500
Zhetysu	Taldykorgan	Samat Suyumbayev Stadium	4,000

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Aktobe	Nikolay Kostov	Alibek Kasym	Adidas	Olimpbet, Kazchrome, A'su
Altay Oskemen	Vakhid Masudov	Sergey Khizhnichenko	TBD	TBD
Astana	Grigori Babayan	Abzal Beisebekov [8]	Adidas	Samruk Kazyna, Olimpbet, Okadzaki, Miglior, SportQory
Atyrau	Vitaly Zhukovsky	Igor Stasevich	Macron	Olimpbet, A'su, Dodo Pizza
Elimai	Andrey Karpovich	Maksym Koval	Puma	Altay Resurs
Irtysh	Kirill Alshevsky	Nikita Kalmykov	TBD	TBD
Jenis	Ali Aliyev	Islambek Kuat	Joma	Freedom Bank
Kairat	Rafael Urazbakhtin	Alyaksandr Martynovich	Joma	1XBET, KNK Kemikal, EcoAlmaty, Alex Saryagash
Kaisar	Andrey Ferapontov	Duman Narzildayev	Adidas	Biali, Olimpbet, A'su
Kaspiy	Ruslan Esatov	Yerkebulan Nurgaliyev	TBD	TBD
Kyzylzhar	Milić Ćurčić	Oleksandr Noyok	Kelme	None
Okzhetpes	Rinat Alyuetov	Niyaz Idrisov	Jako	None
Ordabasy	Andrei Martin	Sultanbek Astanov	Puma	Olimpbet
Tobol	Nurbol Zhumaskaliyev	Roman Asrankulov	Macron	Solidcore Resources, Olimpbet
Ulytau	Nurken Mazbayev	Demiyat Slambekov	Cikers	Kazakhmys
Zhetysu	Kairat Nurdauletov	Berik Shaykhov	Adidas	None

Foreign players

The number of foreign players is restricted to thirteen per KPL team squad of 25 players.

Foreign players in the KPL as of 18 January 2026.

For transfers during the season, see Winter 2025–26 transfers and Summer 2026 transfers.

Club	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4	Player 5	Player 6	Player 7	Player 8	Player 9	Player 10	Player 11	Player 12	Player 13	Former players
Aktobe	Nikita Korzun	Amadou Doumbouya	Jayro Jean	Daniel Sosah	Andrei Vlad	Nemanja Anđelković	Ajdin Zeljković	Ivan Ordets						Gaby Kiki Uche Agbo Freddy Góndola Bogdan Vătăjelu Djordje Ivkovic Idris Umayev
Astana	Nazmi Gripshi	Ivan Bašić	Karlo Bartolec	Josip Čondrić	Branimir Kalaica	Marin Tomasov	Ousmane Camara	Kipras Kažukolovas	Aleksa Amanović	Driton Camaj	Geoffrey Chinedu	Nnamdi Ahanonu		Max Ebong
Atyrau	Ruslan Khadarkevich	Yegor Khatkevich	Vasily Sovpel	Igor Stasevich	Ruslan Yudenkov	Tsvetelin Chunchukov	Joel Kayamba	Rashid Abubakar	Goran Milojko	Konstantin Dorofeyev	Luka Zgurski	Dmytro Ryzhuk		Mateus Barbosa Nikita Kaplenko Gia Chaduneli Giorgi Gadrani Giorgi Nikabadze Zaza Tsitskishvili Guilherme Morais Yevgeni Kozlov Arsen Siukayev
Elimai	Yevgeny Beryozkin	Maicom David	Marin Belančić	Samuel Odeyobo	Nemanja Ćalasan	Euloge Placca Fessou	Maksym Koval	Kevin Rolón						Nikita Korzun Eduard Florescu Roman Tugarev Fejsal Mulić
Jenis	Sergey Ignatovich	Vsevolod Sadovsky	Ivan Šaravanja	Adílio	Gian Martins	Elguja Lobjanidze	Zurab Tevzadze	Razak Abalora	Rui Batalha	Matija Rom				Konstantinos Venizelou Erdon Daci Krystian Nowak Gonçalo Teixeira Jakub Novak Mika
Kairat	Valery Gromyko	Alyaksandr Martynovich	João Paulo	Élder Santana	Edmilson	Ricardinho	Jaakko Oksanen	Giorgi Zaria	Ofri Arad	Dan Glazer	Jorginho	Luís Mata	Yegor Sorokin	Luka Gadrani Jug Stanojev
Kaisar	Thomas Jones	Nikola Cuckić
Kyzylzhar	Rafael Sabino	Néné Gbamblé	Senin Sebai	Miroslav Lobantsev	Andrei Vasilyev	Anatoliy Kozlenko	Oleksandr Noyok							Michael Kaho Abdoul Aziz Toure Nnamdi Ahanonu Ilija Martinović Darko Zorić
Okzhetpes	Enzo	Nikola Cuckić	Strahinja Jovanović											Franjo Prce Oleksiy Shevchenko
Ordabasy	Alan Dias	Everton Moraes	João Paulino	Dario Čanađija	Luka Imnadze	Dumitru Celeadnic	Victor Mudrac	Mihai Căpățînă	Nikola Antić	Vladyslav Naumets	Yuriy Vakulko			Rashid Abubakar Sherif Jimoh Kayode Saliman
Tobol	Yegor Khvalko	Nikolay Signevich	Victor Braga	Henrique Devens	Pape-Alioune Ndiaye	Tsotne Mosiashvili	Ahmed El Messaoudi	Nemanja Cavnić	Marko Vukčević	Ededem Essien	Ivan Miladinović	Shokhboz Umarov		Radoslav Tsonev David Henen
Turan	Danila Ignatov	Nicolai Solodovnicov	Yevgeny Goshev	Luka Čermelj	Veljko Trifunović									Yegor Khatkevich Vasily Sovpel Igor Stasevich Ruslan Yudenkov Goran Milojko Jovan Pajović Konstantin Dorofeyev Luka Zgurski Odil Abdumazhidov Bekhruzbek Askarov Khurshidbek Mukhtorov Shokhboz Umarov
Ulytau	Piruz Marakvelidze	Kotaro Kishi	Jovan Pajović	Georgi Bugulov	José Carrillo	Yaroslav Terekhov	Beka Vachiberadze	Dmytro Yusov						Vadim Paireli Nicolai Solodovnicov
Zhetysu	Maksim Kovel	Meik Karwot	Raphael Success	Alan Chochiyev	Denis Kavlinov	Soslan Takulov	Maksim Zhitnev	Mohamed Buya Turay	Saidu Fofanah					Ruslan Bolov

In bold: Players that have been capped for their national team. In Italic: Players that joined in mid-season

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Zhetysu	Samat Smakov	End of contract	14 November 2025	Pre-season	Kayrat Nurdauletov	17 December 2025
Kyzylzhar	Milić Ćurčić	End of contract	31 December 2025		Ali Aliyev	5 January 2026
Atyrau	Kuanysh Kabdulov	End of interim spell	1 December 2025		Vitaly Zhukovsky	1 January 2026
Turan	Vitaly Zhukovsky	Signed by Atyrau	31 December 2025		Rinat Alyuetov	12 January 2026

Regular season

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Aktobe	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2	Altay	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round
3	Astana	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Atyrau	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Elimai	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Irtysh	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	Jenis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Kaspiy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	Kairat	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	Kaisar	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	Kyzylzhar	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Okzhetpes	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	Ordabasy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	Tobol	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	Ulytau	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegation to Kazakhstan First Division
16	Zhetysu	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: March 2026. Source: UEFA, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Matches won; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Head-to-head points; 7) Head-to-head matches won; 8) Head-to-head goal difference; 9) Head-to-head goals scored; 10) Head-to-head away goals scored; 11) Draw.. ^[9]

Results

Results table

Home \ Away	AKT	ALT	AST	ATY	ELI	IRT	JEN	KAS	KRT	KSR	KYZ	OKZ	ORD	TOB	ULT	ZTS
Aktobe	—
Altay		—
Astana			—
Atyrau				—
Elimai					—
Irtysh						—
Jenis							—
Kaspiy								—
Kairat									—
Kaisar										—
Kyzylzhar											—
Okzhetpes												—
Ordabasy													—
Tobol														—
Ulytau															—
Zhetysu																—

Updated to match(es) played on Future 2026. Source: Premier League Kazakhstan
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Results by match played

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Aktobe
Altay
Astana
Atyrau
Elimai
Irtysh
Jenis
Kaspiy
Kairat
Kaisar
Kyzylzhar
Okzhetpes
Ordabasy
Tobol
Ulytau
Zhetysu

Updated to match(es) played on Future 2026. Source: Premier League Kazakhstan
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed

Positions by round

To preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Kairat
Astana
Tobol
Elimai
Aktobe
Jenis
Ordabasy
Okzhetpes
Kyzylzhar
Ulytau
Kaisar
Zhetysu
Atyrau
Kaspiy
Irtysh
Altay

	Leader and Champions League first qualifying round
	Conference League first qualifying round
	Relegation to 2027 Kazakhstan First Division

Updated to match(es) played on TBD 2026. Source: PFLK

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals

Top assist

Rank	Player	Club	Assist

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Assist

References

1. "QFL Strategy and Development Plan for 2026" (in Kazakh and English). Kazakhstanskaya Futbolnaya Liga. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
2. Sports.kz (2025-03-20). "League Expansion Confirmed: Transition Rules for 2025/26" (in Russian). Retrieved 2026-01-18.
3. Vesti.kz (2025-11-15). "Three teams to join KPL in 2026 expansion" (in Russian).
4. "KFF Executive Committee approves new league structure". Kazinform. 2025-12-05.
5. Vesti.kz (2025-11-02). "Turan relegated as KPL prepares for 16-team format" (in Russian). Retrieved 2026-01-18.
6. Sports.kz (2025-10-28). "The return of a giant: Irtysh Pavlodar promoted to KPL" (in Russian). Retrieved 2026-01-18.
7. "Official Final Standings of the 2025 First League" (in Kazakh). Kazakhstanskaya Futbolnaya Liga. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
8. "Универсал Бейсебеков, который теперь стал капитаном. Как менялась роль игрока в "Астане"". vesti.kz/ (in Russian). Vesti. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
9. "Регламент Olimpbet-Чемпионата Республики Казахстан по футболу среди клубов Премьер-Лиги сезона 2023 года" [RegulationsOlimpbet-Championship of the Republic of Kazakhstan on footballamong the 2023 Premier League clubs](PDF). Kazakhstan Premier League (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-01-26.

External links

• Official website (in Kazakh and Russian)