After the announcement of a Kanye West concert in Almaty, the management of FC Kairat stated that the organizers did not coordinate the event with them for the city's Central Stadium, reports infohub.kz.
An official statement appeared on the club's Instagram account. It says that information about the concert on August 14 at Central Stadium spread in public space, but that date was not agreed with the club, which hosts home matches there and continues to participate in European cup tournaments. According to the Kazakhstan Premier League calendar, Kairat is scheduled to play at Central Stadium on August 8 and 15 as part of the national championship. Additionally, between August 11 and 13, a potential home match in European competition could take place there.
The club's management noted that organizing a concert of this scale requires lengthy setup and teardown of the stage and technical equipment, and also puts significant strain on the football pitch and stadium infrastructure. Given the tight sports schedule, this could affect the quality of the turf, preparation of the venue, and the ability to hold official matches in accordance with established requirements.
FC Kairat emphasized that any mass events at Central Stadium must be organized with mandatory consideration of the approved football calendar and after coordination with all stakeholders. Until the relevant approvals are completed, the club considers it premature to announce Central Stadium as the venue for the concert on August 14.
Earlier, information about the Kanye West concert in Almaty emerged, first reported by his manager Joseph Carre. Later, the Almaty city administration confirmed that an agreement had been reached — the concert is scheduled for August 14 at 9 p.m. at Central Stadium. A similar situation occurred last year with a Jennifer Lopez concert in Astana, when the head coach of FC Astana said the concert caused inconvenience to the football club.