From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market22 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Akzhaiyk can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets22 Feb 2027
The deal with Astana is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad22 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets22 Feb 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Samat Zainutdinov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Erbol Akhmetov commits to Akzhaiyk for another 3 years.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Too much change too quickly at Akzhaiyk
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Dauren Tagybergen's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Dauren Abiken knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dauren Abiken trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Feb 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market15 Feb 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Akzhaiyk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market15 Feb 2027
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Okzhetpes moved on, Islambek Tagybergen reports back to Akzhaiyk, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Askhat Vorogovskiy was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets15 Feb 2027
Akzhaiyk asked and Taraz said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad15 Feb 2027
César Ribeiro falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets15 Feb 2027
Okzhetpes have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Squad15 Feb 2027
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Akzhaiyk are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Somebody is after Samat Orazov’s shirt
A new face in his position, and Samat Orazov suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Akzhaiyk have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Feb 2027
Ordabasy come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Akzhaiyk did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market8 Feb 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Akzhaiyk have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market8 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Akzhaiyk can pretend not to have heard.
Market8 Feb 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Akzhaiyk have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Matin Ilhan gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Matin Ilhan has just signed for Akzhaiyk, and for once the answer mattered.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Feb 2027
Zhetysu come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Akzhaiyk did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market1 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
This is not rotation. Erbol Kuat has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Akzhaiyk is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kairat have kept their man, and Akzhaiyk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Zainutdinov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad1 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Open for business: Akzhaiyk enter the window
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Samat Orazov has company in his position
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Samat Orazov keeps the shirt for now, at Akzhaiyk's convenience rather than his own.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A season on the outside for César Ribeiro
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Akzhaiyk has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market25 Jan 2027
Samat Orazov hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Akzhaiyk can pretend not to have heard.
Squad25 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Jan 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ilya Cheryshev commits to Akzhaiyk for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Jan 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Dauren Tagybergen commits to Akzhaiyk for another 4 years.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Askhat Vorogovskiy was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Zainutdinov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Jan 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Akzhaiyk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Ilya Cheryshev is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Samat Zainutdinov and Akzhaiyk agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout4 Jan 2027
This is not rotation. Erbol Kuat has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Akzhaiyk is pretending otherwise.
Squad4 Jan 2027
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Askhat Vorogovskiy and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Dec 2026
Ordabasy Abiken was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mikhail Gabyshev commits to Akzhaiyk for another 1 years.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Akzhaiyk are still strangers to each other
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Samat Zainutdinov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market28 Dec 2026
Akzhaiyk bring in an old head
Mikhail Gabyshev is 37 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Zainutdinov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad21 Dec 2026
He came through the session, took part in everything and finished it smiling. Akzhaiyk will not rush him, and he will spend the next fortnight trying to rush them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Dec 2026
Erbol Kuat hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Akzhaiyk can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Ordabasy Abiken and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. César Ribeiro is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alexandr Obolentsev and Akzhaiyk agree another 3 years.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
This is not rotation. Erbol Kuat has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Akzhaiyk is pretending otherwise.
Squad7 Dec 2026
16 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Ordabasy Abiken and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Ordabasy Abiken has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Islambek Murtazaev, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Nov 2026
Ordabasy Abiken was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Samat Zainutdinov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market30 Nov 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Ordabasy Abiken may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
Askhat Vorogovskiy was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad23 Nov 2026
César Ribeiro falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market23 Nov 2026
Akzhaiyk have made Erbol Kuat available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
The medical room confirms 31 days on the sidelines for Dauren Abiken, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Askhat Vorogovskiy and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Zainutdinov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
The medical room confirms 44 days on the sidelines for Yerkebulan Dosmagambetov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Askhat Vorogovskiy and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Loan watch9 Nov 2026
“I did not go to Okzhetpes to sit and watch. I want to come back to Akzhaiyk and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Akzhaiyk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A muscle injury and 14 days out for Timur Kuat
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Akzhaiyk will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad2 Nov 2026
César Ribeiro falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Oct 2026
Samat Zainutdinov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad26 Oct 2026
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Akzhaiyk the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A welcome sight on the training pitch: Yeldos Murtazaev has come through recovery and is pushing for a place again.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Oct 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. César Ribeiro is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Zainutdinov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Askhat Vorogovskiy and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Loan watch12 Oct 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Akzhaiyk, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and César Ribeiro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Zainutdinov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Sep 2026
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Askhat Vorogovskiy was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Baurzhan Baizhanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Askhat Vorogovskiy and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. César Ribeiro is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abzal Beysebekov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Window shuts: 4 in, 4 out at Akzhaiyk
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 4 arrived, 4 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Market14 Sep 2026
Okzhetpes come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Akzhaiyk did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Loan watch14 Sep 2026
“I watch every Akzhaiyk game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Okzhetpes runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Abzal Beysebekov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Zainutdinov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Ismail Bekbolat arrived with a record at a bigger club than this one, and the room has treated him accordingly. The young ones watch him train; the senior ones watch to see whether it lasts.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Sep 2026
Erbol Kuat hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Akzhaiyk can pretend not to have heard.
Market7 Sep 2026
Atyrau come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Akzhaiyk did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Akzhaiyk asked and Kairat said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Serikzhan Logvinenko is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samat Zainutdinov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Aug 2026
Samat Orazov hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Akzhaiyk can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad31 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Ordabasy: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ordabasy Dosmagambetov and Akzhaiyk agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad31 Aug 2026
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Akzhaiyk know which stage they are at.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Aug 2026
The bid was some way short and Akzhaiyk did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Askhat Vorogovskiy and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samat Zainutdinov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Kairat have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Ordabasy: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to César Ribeiro, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Aug 2026
The cup run ends for Akzhaiyk
0‑3 against Tobol, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
A cup hiding at Tobol leaves Akzhaiyk explaining themselves
0-3, and long before the end the away end had switched from encouragement to something considerably more pointed. Nobody rings a phone-in about losing narrowly.
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market17 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Akzhaiyk have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kairat have kept their man, and Akzhaiyk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Askhat Vorogovskiy and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Timur Kuat
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Samat Zainutdinov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market10 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Serikzhan Logvinenko and Akzhaiyk agree another 4 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Askhat Vorogovskiy was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market10 Aug 2026
Business is business: Timur Suyunov goes
Kairat paid $590.0K and Akzhaiyk took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Market10 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Ordabasy Abiken again, and this time the name on the line is Irtysh. Akzhaiyk are listening politely and promising nothing.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Akzhaiyk asked and Kairat said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Akzhaiyk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Timur Kuat is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Aug 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad3 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Timur Kuat was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market3 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Akzhaiyk have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Match1 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Akzhaiyk will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan move for Igor' Trofimets is in the works
Akzhaiyk have made the call to Aktobe. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.