Levski's next opponent in the Champions League, FC Kairat, is among the most colorful and scandalous clubs in Central Asia.
The Almaty team combines a rich Soviet-era history with modern oligarchic opulence, marked by prison sentences for the owners and absurd organizational curiosities.
While the “blues“ fans are excited by the purely sports-technical side and the three times higher market valuation of the Bulgarian team, the history of the rival hides a huge dose of extravagance, political upheavals and real organizational absurdities.
The absurdity of the year: Expelled 800 km because of Kanye West
The latest scandalous curiosity about Kairat came directly from UEFA when announcing the match schedule. The return match on August 11 will not be played at the modern Central Stadium in Almaty. The reason? The facility has been rented for a large-scale concert by American megastar Kanye West.
Instead of in front of over 23,000 of its supporters, Kairat will have to host Levski at the small “Turkestan Arena“ in the city of Turkestan, located more than 800 kilometers to the west - near the border with Uzbekistan. The stadium there has a capacity of just 7,000 seats and is used by second-division local team Turan. The decision caused a wave of discontent among fans in Almaty, who accused the club's management of putting commercial events before the team's all-important European campaign.
The special president: From prison to Champions League triumph
At the heart of Kairat's entire modern rise and fall stands one extremely influential figure - oligarch Kairat Boranbayev. He took over the club in 2012, having previously amassed billions in the gas industry and owned McDonald's franchises in Kazakhstan and Russia. Boranbayev is also a relative of the country's late former president, Nursultan Nazarbayev (his daughter was married to Nazarbayev's grandson).
In March 2022, following political changes in Kazakhstan, the billionaire was spectacularly arrested by the Financial Monitoring Agency on charges of embezzlement of state funds on a particularly large scale and tax fraud. He initially received 8 years in prison, but after returning hundreds of millions of dollars in assets to the state (including shopping malls and oil fields), his sentence was reviewed and he was released on probation.
The absurdity reached its peak when Kairat secured the title and a Champions League quota last season after dramatic qualifiers. The players literally carried their boss around the pitch in their arms while he was still formally held under judicial supervision – a plot worthy of a Hollywood movie.
Transfer Oddities: The Retirement Home for Falling Stars
Before Boranbayev changed his strategy to develop young local talent, Kairat had a reputation as a club that threw millions at fading global stars looking for one last big contract before retirement.
The most striking example is Russian legend Andrei Arshavin. The former Arsenal ace spent three years in Almaty (2016-2018), where he was embroiled in a number of off-field scandals, including midnight visits to strip clubs in Almaty, which were filmed by paparazzi. However, Arshavin was idolized by local fans for his brilliant performances on the pitch.
He was followed by Brazilian goalscorer Wagner Love. The striker, who scored dozens of goals for CSKA Moscow, came to Kazakhstan at the age of 36. Although a veteran, he helped the team break the hegemony of FC Astana, but the local media often criticized the fact that his salary exceeded the budgets of half the teams in the championship.
Levski's luck: Their best player is out
In addition to the logistical shock of moving the second leg to Turkestan, Kairat enters the clash with Levski with a serious personnel problem. The team's biggest star - Portuguese winger Jorginho - is out of the picture due to a serious knee injury. This seriously exposes the attack of the Kazakhs, whose squad is currently valued at a total of 12.7 million euros, while Stanislav Genchev's selection in Levski exceeds 37 million euros.
The first match between Levski and Kairat will be played at the “Georgi Asparuhov“ stadium in Sofia on August 4 at 8:30 p.m., and the blue fans are already buying tickets in the hope of a new European triumph.