Key Takeaways:
- More than 1,000,000 people attempted to buy tickets for Kairat’s Champions League encounter with Real Madrid in Almaty
- The 23,000-seat Centralny stadium is set to welcome Real Madrid for its first ever visit to the city tomorrow evening
- Ticket resale prices have soared to several thousand dollars, with reports of widespread counterfeit sales
Unprecedented Anticipation Ahead of Kairat vs Real Madrid
A wave of excitement has swept through Almaty as local club Kairat prepares for perhaps the most significant match in its history. Despite its geographical distance from Europe – Almaty is approximately 300 kilometres from the Chinese border and less than 50 kilometres from Kyrgyzstan – Kairat’s progress in the Champions League has seen them joined by European giants.
For the first time ever, Almaty is set to welcome the world-renowned Real Madrid, a fixture that has generated a ticket demand of historic proportions within Kazakhstan’s largest city.
🏟️ Central Stadium
📍 Kairat 🇰🇿
📶 Capacity 23,800
👕 FC Kairat, Kazakhstan NT pic.twitter.com/qjvg33lKmU— 🏟️ Stadiums Of Our Dreams (@Stadium_Dreams) September 21, 2025
Historic Ticket Demand and Chaos
Interest for this Champions League fixture quickly reached unprecedented levels. When tickets for the match at the 23,000-capacity Central Stadium were released, an estimated 1,000,000 unique users flooded the sales website as soon as it went live, causing the platform to crash immediately.
Official figures showed that several hundred thousand people placed requests for tickets, but with only around 20,000 available to home supporters, they were snapped up within seconds. Kairat’s encounter with Real Madrid has triggered a scale of demand never before seen for a sporting event in Kazakhstan.
Scarcity Drives Prices and Counterfeit Activity
The extraordinary demand has inevitably led to significant issues in the secondary market. Local authorities and Kairat officials have reported widespread instances of counterfeit ticket sales circulating in the build-up to the game. Genuine match tickets are being resold at exceptionally high prices for local standards, often running to several thousand dollars.
On social media, a supporter of Kairat shared details of a ticket purchased for approximately 460 dollars via official channels, albeit for a seat with restricted view, only able to follow attacks on a single goal. In another instance, a young man posted an advert offering a small apartment on the city outskirts in exchange for a ticket, epitomising the fervour and anticipation felt across Almaty.
Centralny Stadium Ready for a Historic Night
While Kazakhstan’s capital club Astana previously hosted high-profile clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea, Atlético Madrid, Benfica, and Galatasaray during Champions League campaigns under the guidance of Stanimir Stoilov, tomorrow’s clash represents a first for Almaty’s football community. The Centralny stadium, with its Soviet-era architecture and limited amenities, will provide the setting for this remarkable chapter in Kairat’s and the city’s football story.
| Match | Date | Venue | Stadium Capacity | Ticket Requests | Tickets Sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kairat vs Real Madrid | 30/09 | Almaty Central Stadium | 23,800 | Over 1,000,000 | 20,000 |
