Kazakhstan's president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has sat down with Atletico Madrid CEO Miguel Ángel Gil Marín in Astana to talk about deepening the Central Asian country's football partnership with the Spanish club — and the wider picture is that Kazakhstan is quietly building itself into a serious venue for European football and futsal.

The meeting covered football development, infrastructure and youth training. Tokayev pointed to Kazakhstan's investment in modern training facilities and its ongoing privatization of most domestic clubs, plus a joint project with FIFA to build more than 100 new pitches for children across the country. He also flagged an interest in borrowing from Spain's much-admired player development system. For its part, Atletico praised its own academy complex in the Almaty Region, suggesting it could grow into one of the leading training centres in the region.

The bigger news for anyone who travels for sport: Kazakhstan is bidding to host UEFA Futsal EURO 2030, up against Croatia, Finland, France, Georgia, Poland and Spain. Bid dossiers are due by June 8, 2027, with the host named that September. Whether or not it wins, a run of events is already locked in — Astana will host the 51st UEFA Congress and the UEFA European Under-19 Futsal Championship in 2027, and Astana Arena is down to stage the UEFA Super Cup in 2028. That last one is the showpiece: a one-off clash between the reigning Champions League and Europa League winners, in a city most European football fans have never considered for a match day.

There's pedigree behind the bid, too. Kazakhstan has become a genuine futsal power — Almaty club Kairat has lifted the UEFA Futsal Cup twice, the national team made a FIFA Futsal World Cup semifinal and took European Championship bronze, and the country currently sits eighth in the world rankings while chasing qualification for the 2028 World Cup. Kazakh officials are also getting UEFA appointments in European club competitions this season, including delegate roles at Champions League, Europa League and Conference League fixtures.

Why should a traveller care? If you're a football fan who likes your trips a bit off the beaten path, Astana in 2027 and 2028 offers a rare combination: a futuristic, glass-and-marble capital on the steppe, plus top-tier UEFA fixtures at ticket prices and hotel rates well below what you'd pay in Madrid, Paris or Munich. The Super Cup in particular is a short, high-impact trip — one match, one striking city. Kazakhstan visa rules are friendly to many European passport holders, and the flight is the main cost.

Football diplomacy from the steppe is worth watching — and possibly worth a trip. Source: The Astana Times