ASTANA — UEFA has officially announced the fixtures for the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League group stage, with FC Kairat set to play its historic first home match against Real Madrid on Sept. 30 in Almaty.
Kairat’s European journey will begin slightly earlier, with an away opener against Sporting Clube de Portugal on Sept. 18.
Following the Real Madrid match in Almaty, the club will face Pafos FC at home on Oct. 21, then travel to Italy for a match against Internazionale Milano FC on Nov. 5. Later, Kairat will meet Copenhagen FC away on Nov. 26 before ending the year by hosting Olympiacos FC on Dec. 9.
The group stage will conclude in early 2026 with two decisive fixtures: Club Brugge KV in Almaty on Jan. 20 and an away match at Arsenal FC on Jan. 28.
Kazakhstan rises in UEFA rankings
Kazakhstan has improved its UEFA country ranking following Kairat’s remarkable qualifying campaign.
According to Sports.kz, the nation climbed five places, moving from 39th to 34th, overtaking Armenia, Latvia, Finland, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Kairat reached the group stage after a dramatic series of victories: a 3:1 aggregate win over Slovenia’s Olimpija, a 3:2 triumph against Finland’s KuPS, a penalty shootout victory over Slovakia’s Slovan (1:1, 4:3 on pens), and an extraordinary upset of Scotland’s Celtic in the play-off round (0:0, 3:2 on pens).
