FC Kairat Almaty

When FC Kairat Almaty qualified for the Champions League phase by beating Celtic on penalties after two scoreless legs, it wasn’t just an upset – it was the starting gun for a rivival in Kazakh sport and identity.

So, let’s travel to the very eastern edge of UEFA territory and visit Kazakhstan’s ancient capital – and today its commercial hub – Almaty.

Almaty sits closer to Tokyo than London, further east than Mumbai. Yet it has always been a crossroads: of trade, empires, fruit, warriors, and football. From the Bronze Age to the Soviet Union, from wild apple orchards to the world’s biggest stage, Almaty and its club Kairat have carried a story of resilience and global connections.

The name Almaty comes from the Kazakh word for apple (алма). The city is often translated as “full of apples,” while its Soviet-era name, Alma-Ata, meant “father of the apples.”

This is with good reason: the wild apple species Malus sieversii, found on the slopes of the Tian Shan mountains near Almaty, is believed to be the ancestor of every domestic apple eaten today. The humble fruit in your kitchen is Kazakh.

Settlements in Almaty stretch back thousands of years. Bronze Age farmers established communities around 1000 BC. Later came the Saka and Wusun tribes. These nomads were famed for their horsemanship and their skill at firing bows while on the move. They roamed across Central Asia and into Europe, settling in large numbers in Ukraine. As they moved, they left behind burial mounds, artefacts, and myths.

Almaty’s greatest symbol may be the Golden Man (Altyn Adam). In 1969, archaeologist Kemal Akishev unearthed a burial mound at Issyk, just outside the city. Inside lay the remains of a Saka warrior from the 5th century BC, clad in a costume made of around 4,800 individual gold pieces.

The attire included a tall, pointed headdress decorated with snow leopards, elk, and birds of prey. Every item shimmered with meaning, linking the warrior to the myths and animals of the steppe.

The Golden Man has since become a national emblem. Replicas stand in squares across Kazakhstan, including Almaty’s Republic Square. For many Kazakhs, it represents a deep-rooted sense of identity: before empires, before Soviets, before modern borders, their land produced leaders, warriors, and culture.

By the Middle Ages, Almaty’s region became an important subsection of the Silk Roads under the Mongols. Before modern sea and air freight, the most lucrative trade routes in the world travelled through Central Asia. Goods, faiths, and armies all moved through Almaty at one point or another. The city’s fortunes rose and fell, but it remained a meeting point between East and West.

The great Mongol Empire that stretched from Korea in the east to Krakow was simply too large, and expanded too quickly, to survive in the long term. It fell into competing territories and empires. Around Almaty, the Kazakhs appeared as a separate culture, while to their north rose the aggressive Dzungars.

For decades, the two sides fought for control of the Central Asian steppes – but in the 18th century the Kazakhs finally defeated the Dzungars at the Battle of Anyrakay near Almaty.

However, fresh from pushing away one invader, another, in the form of Imperial Russia, arrived. As the Russians advanced, they paused and built a defensive post known as Fort Verny in 1854. That fort became the seed of modern Almaty.

By the 20th century, Almaty – then Alma-Ata – had become central to Soviet Kazakhstan. It was named capital in 1929, a role it held until 1997.

During the Second World War, entire industries, universities, and film studios were relocated to Alma-Ata to keep them safe from Nazi invasion. For a time, the city became a cultural capital of the Soviet Union, producing films, ideas, and goods that fuelled the war effort.

And – after this gallop through Central Asian history – we arrive back at football.

For it was in this Soviet city that FC Kairat emerged in 1954.

The Soviets organised sport through voluntary sports societies tied to industries or trades: Lokomotiv for railwaymen, Dinamo for police, Spartak for workers. Kairat was founded under this model, originally linked to agriculture.

Their first badge reflected that identity: a diamond-shaped crest – a form common among Soviet clubs – encircled by wreaths of wheat, signalling the club’s roots in the rural sports society.

The name Kairat (meaning strength, energy, willpower) was chosen in 1956, carrying Kazakh values of endurance and resilience. It wasn’t just a name – the Kazakhs were allowed to enter only one team in the wider Soviet league, so the team’s name would be one of the main identifying marks of Kazakhstan to the wider community.

In the Soviet Top League, they were known for defensive resolve, earning the nickname “Kairat Concrete.” For Kazakhs, though, their presence among Moscow’s giants was symbolic: proof that their republic had a place at the top table.

Post-independence, Kairat lifted the inaugural Kazakhstan Premier League in 1992. They have since added multiple cups and titles, and built a fierce rivalry with FC Astana, the new capital, in the “Two Capitals Derby.”

The modern Kairat badge keeps that Soviet DNA alive. The diamond shape remains, just as it was in the era of voluntary sports societies. The wheat wreaths have gone, but look closely: the sun’s rays behind the rising football still echo the shape of corn husks, a subtle nod to the club’s agricultural origins.

It is a badge that connects eras. From Soviet collectives to modern independence, from steppe farmers to Champions League floodlights, from wheat wreaths to mineral wealth.

They are the Golden Warriors of the Steppe – and they intend to make their mark on the Champions League.