Almaty football club Kairat will not be able to play a potential home match in the third qualifying round of the European competitions at the Central Stadium in Almaty. The game will be moved to Turkestan because American rapper Kanye West (Ye) is scheduled to perform at the city's main arena on August 14, according to infohub.kz.
The club announced the decision in an official statement. Kairat explained that the concert dates coincide with the period of European matches, making the Central Stadium unavailable for preparation and the game. As a result, the club appealed to UEFA to change the venue.
"Given the circumstances and the tight schedule of the European competition, the club requested UEFA to relocate the potential home match of the third qualifying round. Following the review of this request, the game was approved to be held in Turkestan at the Turkestan Arena," the statement said.
The club added that the exact date and time of the match, as well as ticket sales information, will be announced later—once the team's next opponent in the European competition is determined. Earlier, Kairat had opposed holding the concert on the scheduled dates, noting that the event date was not coordinated with the team, which continues its European campaign and plays home matches at the Central Stadium.