Almaty ramps up sports capital status

The Alatau Tennis Center has been completed in the Nurkent residential district. The facility features four indoor and 10 outdoor courts with various surfaces.

Construction is also underway on a Paralympic and Deaflympic Sports Center, with completion anticipated in 2026.

One of the top priority areas is the construction of a new 35,000-seat football stadium that meets FIFA and UEFA standards. Furthermore, the plans comprise reconstructing the Central Stadium, renovating the Medeu Sports Complex (preserving its historical appearance), and constructing six sports and recreation centers in various districts of the city.

These projects aim to increase access to sports for all residents and strengthen Almaty's status as the sports capital of Kazakhstan.

It was also noted that Almaty athletes continue to demonstrate strong results at national and international levels. In 2025 alone, they won over 4,000 medals, including 3,534 at Kazakhstan's national championships, 298 at Asian championships, 119 at World Cup stages, and 68 at world championships.

Among the year’s highlights are:

• Mikhail Shaidorov's silver at the World Figure Skating Championships.
• Nariman Kurbanov and Milad Karimi's victories at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup stages.
• Boxing World Championships medals: Alua Balkibekova's gold, Nazym Kyzaibay's silver, and bronze of Viktoriya Grafeyeva and Eldana Talipova.
• Nurkozha Kaipanov's bronze at the World Wrestling Championships.
• Xeniya Balabayeva's success as a two-time World Junior Chess Champion.

As previously reported, Almaty was officially designated as a World Craft City by the World Crafts Council, recognizing the city’s role in preserving cultural heritage and developing artisanal traditions. Earlier, the City Administration allocated 12.2 billion tenge from the local budget for the creation of the Children’s Science Museum, which will be the first of its kind in the CIS region.