2026 Kazakhstan Premier League


The 2026 Kazakhstan Premier League was the 35th season of the Kazakhstan Premier League, the highest football league competition in Kazakhstan.

Overview

For the 2026 season, the Kazakhstan Premier League will expand from 14 to 16 teams. This expansion was officially ratified by the Kazakhstan Football Federation and the Professional Football League of Kazakhstan as part of a long-term strategy to increase the professionalization of the sport and enhance regional representation across the country.
To facilitate the increase in participants, a specific promotion and relegation format was applied to the 2025 season:
The expansion marks a return to a larger league format, which was previously reduced due to infrastructure and financial licensing requirements. Under the new 16-team structure, the KFF has introduced stricter stadium and financial criteria to ensure the sustainability of the newly promoted clubs.

Teams

Following the conclusion of the 2025 season, Turan were the only club relegated to the Kazakhstan First Division after finishing in 14th place. This limited relegation was a one-time adjustment to allow for the league's expansion from 14 to 16 teams for the 2026 campaign.
To fill the expanded roster, three clubs were promoted from the Kazakhstan First Division:
  • Caspiy – The champions of the 2025 First Division, returning to the top flight after a two-year absence.
  • Irtysh Pavlodar – The runners-up, marking the historic return of the five-time Kazakhstan champions to the Premier League.
  • Altai – The third-place finishers, securing the final promotion slot under the new expansion rules.

Team overview

TeamLocationVenueCapacity
AltaiOskemenVostok Stadium8,500
AktobeAktobeCentral Stadium12,729
AstanaAstanaAstana Arena30,200
AtyrauAtyrauMunaishy Stadium8,900
ElimaiSemeySpartak Stadium8,000
JenisAstanaAstana Arena30,200
IrtyshPavlodarCentral Stadium12,000
KairatAlmatyCentral Stadium23,804
KaisarKyzylordaGany Muratbayev Stadium7,500
KyzylzharPetropavlKarasai Stadium11,000
OkzhetpesKokshetauTorpedo Stadium4,100
OrdabasyShymkentKazhymukan Munaitpasov Stadium20,000
TobolKostanayCentral Stadium9,500
UlytauJezkazganMetallurg Stadium2,500
ZhetysuTaldykorganSamat Suyumbayev Stadium4,000

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
TeamManagerCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
Aktobe

Foreign players

The number of foreign players is restricted to thirteen per KPL team squad of 25 players.
Foreign players in the KPL as of 18 January 2026.
For transfers during the season, see Winter 2025–26 transfers and Summer 2026 transfers.
ClubPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5Player 6Player 7Player 8Player 9Player 10Player 11Player 12Player 13Former players
Aktobe Pibe Nikita Korzun Amadou Doumbouya Daniel Sosah Mario Rabiu Nani Ajdin Zeljković Ivan Ordets
Altai
Astana Nazmi Gripshi Ivan Bašić Karlo Bartolec Josip Čondrić Branimir Kalaica Marin Tomasov Ousmane Camara Kipras Kažukolovas Aleksa Amanović Geoffrey Chinedu Nnamdi Ahanonu
Atyrau Ruslan Khadarkevich Yegor Khatkevich Vasily Sovpel Igor Stasevich Ruslan Yudenkov Tsvetelin Chunchukov Joel Kayamba Rashid Abubakar Goran Milojko Konstantin Dorofeyev Luka Zgurski Dmytro Ryzhuk
Caspiy
Elimai Edison Ndreca Yevgeny Beryozkin Marin Belančić Hrvoje Ilić Ivan Miladinović Euloge Placca Fessou
Irtysh Pavlodar
Kairat Sebastián Zeballos Alyaksandr Martynovich Lucas Áfrico Edmilson Ricardinho Jaakko Oksanen Dan Glazer Jorginho Luís Mata Valery Gromyko
Yegor Sorokin
Kaisar Thomas Jones Victor Moses Nikola Cuckić Adam Kovac
Kyzylzhar Damjan Krajišnik Néné Gbamblé Dumitru Celeadnic Yevhen Makarenko Anatoliy Kozlenko Oleksandr Noyok
Okzhetpes Enzo Strahinja Jovanović
Ordabasy Alan Dias Everton Moraes Luka Imnadze Victor Mudrac Mihai Căpățînă Vladyslav Naumets Yuriy Vakulko
Tobol Victor Braga Henrique Devens Pape-Alioune Ndiaye Tsotne Mosiashvili Amine Talal Nemanja Cavnić Marko Vukčević Ededem Essien Luis Guerra
Ulytau Piruz Marakvelidze Kotaro Kishi Jovan Pajović Georgi Bugulov José Carrillo Yaroslav Terekhov Beka Vachiberadze Dmytro Yusov
Zhenis Maksim Plotnikov Vsevolod Sadovsky Ivan Šaravanja Adílio Gian Martins Elguja Lobjanidze Zurab Tevzadze Razak Abalora Rui Batalha Matija Rom
Zhetysu Maksim Kovel Meik Karwot Raphael Success Alan Chochiyev Denis Kavlinov Soslan Takulov Maksim Zhitnev Mohamed Buya Turay Saidu Fofanah

In bold:' Players that have been capped for their national team.
In Italic: Players that joined in mid-season

Regular season

League table