The situation surrounding the basketball club "Astana" has received an official comment from the Committee for Sports and Physical Culture of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Kazakhstan, reports infohub.kz.
The department explained that in recent years, the club's performance on the international stage has not met the set goals and expectations. Following last season's VTB United League, BC Astana finished last, 12th place, with only two wins in 44 games. The loss rate exceeded 95%, marking the club's worst result in its entire history in the League. Additionally, for eight years, the team has failed to reach the playoff stage of this tournament.
On the domestic front, BC Astana also fell short of its objectives, losing in the fight for the Kazakhstan Cup and failing to secure the championship title in the National League.
"Last year, a law was adopted to improve the efficiency of sports funding. Its main provisions are aimed at prioritizing the development of national teams, building a sports reserve, and prohibiting the use of budget funds for foreign players. Under these circumstances, we are considering revising our approach to developing domestic basketball. The priority will be the development of the youth team, preparation of the sports reserve, and support for children's and youth sports," the committee noted.
Earlier, players from the capital's team and the national team of Kazakhstan recorded a video address to the country's President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and the Minister of Sports. The athletes stressed that disbanding the main roster would effectively deprive them of their jobs and force many to end their professional careers. The players asked to maintain funding for the club at least for participation in the Kazakhstan Championship.
"Due to the lack of other teams capable of providing us with the opportunity to compete at a professional level, we simply have nowhere to continue our careers. This decision would effectively force 12 professional basketball players to end their careers, and the national team of Kazakhstan would lose players who have been defending our country's honor on the international stage for many years. If BC Astana retains its participation in the Kazakhstan Championship, we will still have the opportunity to further develop basketball in our country, defend the honor of our clubs and the national team. The disappearance of the main team 'Astana' would be a serious blow to all of Kazakhstani basketball. It would threaten the development of young players, weaken the national championship, disrupt the system of preparing players for the national team, and cause serious damage to the future of our sport. We also appeal to all our fans to support us in this difficult situation and help draw public attention to this issue. Your support is especially important today," the players' appeal reads.