UEFA Conference League draw: Kairat’s opponents revealed

The 2026-27 UEFA Conference League draw took place in Monaco. Kairat Almaty was drawn in Pot 4 and will face Atalanta of Italy, Panathinaikos of Greece, Twente of the Netherlands, Universitatea Craiova of Romania, Mjällby of Sweden and Riga of Latvia.

Panathinaikos, Universitatea Craiova and Mjällby will travel to Kazakhstan, while Rafael Urazbakhtin’s side will face the other three clubs away.

Under the 2026-27 Conference League regulations, each of the 36 teams will play six matches in the main stage against different opponents, compared with eight in the Champions League.

The top eight clubs in the standings will advance directly to the round of 16. Clubs finishing ninth to 24th will play in the knockout phase play-offs in February 2027 for a place in the round of 16 in March.

The quarterfinals are scheduled for April 8 and 15, with the semi-finals set for April 29 and May 6. The final is set to take place on June 2 at Beşiktaş Park in Istanbul, Turkey.

The exact match schedule for the main stage will be announced later. For now, the following dates have been announced:

⚽ Matchday 1 — Oct. 15

⚽ Matchday 2 — Oct. 22

⚽ Matchday 3 — Nov. 5

⚽ Matchday 4 — Nov. 26

⚽ Matchday 5 — Dec. 10

⚽ Matchday 6 — Dec. 17

Kairat, the 2025 Kazakhstan Premier League champion, was eliminated in the Champions League qualifiers. The club then dropped into the Europa League qualifiers before eventually reaching the Conference League.