After a concert by global superstar Kanye West in Almaty, reconstruction of the football field at the Central Stadium has begun. Specialists assess the quality of the turf as satisfactory and believe that the condition of the pitch allows for the international match between Kairat and Anderlecht, which the players and their fans have been eagerly awaiting, reports infohub.kz.
The Almaty Sports Facilities Directorate noted that emergency work began immediately after the concert stage was dismantled on August 16. Aeration, puncturing, and mowing of the surviving grass were carried out, along with overseeding and sanding of damaged areas. Enhanced round-the-clock watering (day and night) has also been organized to revive the root system.
The condition of the turf is under constant monitoring.
As a reminder, on August 20, the first match of the Europa League playoff round between Kairat and Anderlecht will take place. The game will be held at the Central Stadium in Almaty at 20:00 Kazakhstan time. The return leg will be held on August 27 in Brussels.
Earlier it was reported that Belgian club striker Lukasz Ambros confirmed after a pre-match training session that the quality of the pitch is acceptable, although there are "small areas with not the best quality of grass."
Kairat's head coach Rafael Urazbakhtin admitted that the grass has yellowed due to the high temperature under the covering, but the team is ready to play in these conditions.
As Kursiv wrote, Kanye West's concert in Almaty went off without any force majeure. However, earlier, precisely because of the concert, Kairat was forced to move the return match of the third qualifying round of the Champions League against Bulgarian side Levski to Turkistan, where the Kazakh team lost.