Anti-Corruption Agency calls out Kazakhstani officials for ‘wasting’ money on legionnaires

There is no systematic approach in the sphere of sports and no clear priorities have been set there, said the agency / Collage by Kursiv.media, photo editor: Aruzhan Makhsotova

The Anti-Corruption Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan has sharply criticized officials responsible for sports management, accusing them of excessive spending on foreign athletes. Earlier this year, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev urged the country to stop naturalizing international athletes and instead focus on bringing in experienced foreign coaches.

An external analysis of corruption risks in the sports sector, conducted by the agency, revealed that over the past 33 years 126 foreign athletes have been signed for Olympic sports in Kazakhstan. However, half of these athletes eventually returned to their home countries. The agency emphasized that instead of investing in the development of domestic talents, sports officials prioritized short-term successes through the recruitment of naturalized athletes.

«Despite the opportunity to build new sporting complexes and football academies, they continued to funnel significant funds toward legionnaires,» the agency said in a statement.

Officials were also criticized for a lack of a systematic approach and absence of clear priorities. Kazakhstan has spent $2.8 billion on sports in the past six years, with an additional $2.6 billion earmarked for the current and upcoming two years. High-performance sports receive nine times more government funding than grassroots sports, yet Kazakhstani athletes’ performance in the Olympic Games has been underwhelming.

Due to the lack of clear priorities, the government for years has been spending money on unpopular and ineffective sports. To address this, the anti-corruption agency recommended that Kazakhstan follow the examples of countries like the U.K., Germany and Australia, where governments intentionally focus on selected sports.

Moreover, the agency criticized the country for failing to fully digitalize processes in the sports sector. This has caused the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to have an incomplete understanding of the state of Kazakhstani sports. The ministry lacks proper records of winners, sports facilities, classes and coaches.

This insufficient digitalization has also led to a lack of transparency and subjectivity in the selection of athletes eligible to participate in tournaments, the agency highlighted.

«All these factors have contributed to uncontrolled public spending, biased supplier selection, fake training camps, misallocation of sports facilities, double financing and inflated salaries for legionnaires,» the agency noted.

In its conclusion, the agency recommended a comprehensive overhaul of the country’s approach to sports management.

In late August, President Tokayev also called out sporting officials during a meeting with the country’s medalists of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The issue of foreign athletes was also discussed in the Mazhilis, Kazakhstan’s lower house of parliament. In December 2023, MP Nartai Sarsengaliyev pointed out that the country was paying legionnaires — specifically players from the Barys hockey club — exorbitant amounts. At that time, the Ministry of Sports announced plans to reduce the number of legionnaires in Kazakhstan.