ASTANA/ Kazakhstan, OCT. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin)  — Just when the crowd began to think that it was all over, the ball slipped into the back of Galatasaray’s net. The Astana Arena, with 30,000 FC Astana fans inside, shook with celebration.

The third own-goal of a mad and exciting match sealed a 2-2 draw for FC Astana in the first ever Champions League football game played in Central Asia.

Incredulous FC Astana fans were besides themselves with joy at the unexpected result.

“I am not keen on football, but when there are games like this, I turn into a real football-freak” said Bota, a 27- year-old FC Astana fan. On her nails she had painted the Kazakh flag.

The atmosphere at the Astana Arena, a state-of-the-art stadium with synthetic grass and retractable roof, was electric and very patriotic. The 30,000 FC Astana fans were dressed in blue-and-yellow, the colours of Kazakhstan’s flag. They didn’t stop singing and chanting for the whole 90 minutes.

In Kazakhstan’s Premier League many seats are empty but not for this match against Istanbul’s Galatasary. On the pitch FC Astana were not just representing the Kazakh capital, they were representing the entire country.

“This game is a way to prove that we are not Boratstan,” said Bota in a reference to the fictional comic character called Borat. “We have a lot of things to show and be proud of.”

Kazakh fans hadn’t forgotten that Galatasaray forward Lukas Podolski tweeted a picture of Borat after his team were drawn in the same group as FC Astana. Every time he touched the ball, they booed.

FC Astana is essentially a state club, part of the President’s Sport Club Astana alongside an ice hockey and cycling team, and financed by the national fund Samruk-Kazyna.

And this historic football match helped distract many people from the increasing economic gloom. Perhaps with some irony, one of the FC Astana chants was “We believe in Astana. We do not care about devaluation.”

Whether they qualify or not for the next round of the Champions League, FC Astana will also host Atletico Madrid and Portugal’s Benfica this year.

ENDS

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(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

ALMATY/Kazakhstan, AUG. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — FC Astana, the quasi Kazakh government football project, may have qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time but not everybody was celebrating.

Football fans in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s former capital, noted FC Astana’s success in beating Apoel Nicosia 2-1 over two legs in a qualifying round for Europe’s top football competition, but only grudgingly.

Azimat, 27, was taking a lunch-break from his job selling French wine at a shop in central Almaty. It was one of those graceful late summer days in Almaty. Snow-capped mountains in the background glinted bright in the sun; tree-lined streets provided a natural, fresh canopy for pedestrians. The day had a laid-back — louche, even — feel about it.

“This is definitely Kazakhstan’s glory,” Azimat said of FC Astana’s unexpected victory. “But, they are celebrating in Astana and not down here.” He smiled, proudly. “We are Almaty.”

People in Almaty are used to Astana’s status as the loud, brash newcomer usurping their beloved city. Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev has treated Astana as his pet project, building grandiose government ministries and replicas of some of Europe’s most famous monuments such as the Arc de Triomphe. He made it his capital in 1997, wary of Almaty’s reputation for dissent. Since then he has poured billions into constructing the city of his dreams and shifted business and government agencies north to Astana. The Central Bank will be the last major government agency to move to Astana from Almaty when it shifts its office at the end of 2016.

Much like the city, FC Astana is a new football team. It was established in 2009, wears the national colours and is sponsored by Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund. It has been created to succeed.

Almaty’s team Kairat was the football powerhouse in Kazakhstan but has been firmly superseded by FC Astana and its stars. A few hours after Azimat espoused on FC Astana’s success, Kairat was playing France’s Bordeaux in a qualifying match for Europe’s second tier UEFA Europa League. It won the match but still lost the two-leg tie. Once again, Almaty residents will have to look on as Astana carries the Kazakh flag, searching for more glory.

ENDS

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(News report from Issue No. 246, published on Sept. 4 2015)

AUG. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – FC Astana became the first Kazakh football team to qualify for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League by beating the more fancied Apoel Nicosia 2-1 on aggregate during a two-leg qualifying match. FC Astana scored with 6 minutes remaining of normal time in the second match in Nicosia.

ENDS

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(News report from Issue No. 245, published on Aug. 28 2015)

JULY 31 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Beijing beat Almaty in the race to host the 2022 Winter Olympics at a vote at a meeting of the International Olympic Committee in Kuala Lumpur. Almaty had been looking to become the only city in the former Soviet Union outside Russia to host an Olympic Games. President Nursultan Nazarbayev wants to burnish his image as the father-of-the-nation by hosting a major sporting event.

ENDS

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(News report from Issue No. 242, published on Aug. 7 2015)