Kazakhstani Senate approves ban on state funding for international athletes

Today, on March 27, the Senate, the upper house of Kazakhstan’s parliament, endorsed amendments to the law on physical culture and sports, banning the use of state funds to finance international athletes. Senators reviewed the document in two readings, with Senator Assem Rakhmetova noting that the draft legislation includes 11 new provisions.

Apart from restricting state financing for non-resident athletes of Kazakhstan, the law also establishes priority sports eligible for prioritized funding based on the results achieved by national teams at the Olympic, Paralympic, Deaflympic, Asian and Asian Para Games.

Following the meeting, reporters asked Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Tourism and Sports, Serik Zharasbayev, about which sports would be affected by the new ban. He responded that around $797.3 million is planned for allocation for sports development in Kazakhstan until 2027 and added that the funds saved from the limitations imposed on hockey and football clubs would be redirected toward developing youth sports.

«It’s hard to say exactly how much we will save because the actual limits for hockey and football clubs have not yet been defined. The working group is currently addressing this issue,» Zharasbayev said.

He also added that after the law is signed into effect, regulatory acts governing its implementation will be developed within two months. So far, 49 legal acts have been prepared and are being discussed with the federations.

Zharasbayev also recalled that initially the limits for football and hockey clubs were set in 2020, standing at approximately $2.3 million for both football and hockey clubs and around $897,000 for other sports.

«There are 14 clubs in the Premier League. For them and for the entire football industry, we allocated approximately $59.8 million in 2024. Thus, we are going to save some money within this budget,» he said.

Regarding international athletes playing in Kazakhstani clubs, Zharasbayev said that 325 foreign footballers were engaged in football, 149 of whom did not have Kazakhstani citizenship.

«Around 45% to 50% of football players are not citizens of Kazakhstan. With the new law being adopted, international athletes will not be able to obtain state funding, so clubs will have to seek private sponsors,» the deputy minister said.

Notably, the outflow of foreigners from Kazakhstan’s sports has been happening against the backdrop of criticism from Kazakhstan’s Anti-Corruption Agency and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s suggestion to put an end to attracting international athletes.