Astana Football Club (Kazakh: Астана футбол клубы, Astana futbol kluby) is a professional football club based in Astana. They compete in the Kazakhstan Premier League, the highest tier of Kazakh football. The club's home ground is the 30,000-seat Astana Arena stadium. The club colours, reflected in their badge and kit, are sky blue and yellow. Founded as Lokomotiv Astana in 2009, the club changed its name to Astana in 2011.
The club has won a record seven league titles, three Kazakhstan Cups and six Kazakhstan Super Cups.
Contents
History
Founding and first years (2009–2014)
On 27 December 2008, football clubs from Almaty Megasport and Alma-Ata announced they would merge to found a new club. The club was named "FC Lokomotiv Astana" as the National Railway Company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy became a general sponsor. Kazakhstan Temir Zholy in cooperation with City Council of Astana decided to move the club to the new building stadium in the capital of Kazakhstan. Vakhid Masudov became the first head coach in the club's history. The club has benefited from a high salary role which has enabled them to attract players of status to the club. Andrey Tikhonov and Yegor Titov first of all came from the Russian Football Premier League. Several more followed such as Patrick Ovie and Baffour Gyan. Maksim Shatskikh later arrived from Dynamo Kyiv in the Ukrainian Premier League which was again a very high-profile capture for the club. The majority of their other players have arrived from other clubs of the Kazakhstan Premier League, mostly on free transfers from the clubs which were absorbed to make the club and several which went into bankruptcy.
On 8 March 2009, Lokomotiv played in the league's inaugural match against Kazakhmys in Satbayev. In March 2009, Vakhid Masudov was replaced by Vladimir Gulyamkhaidarov. However, only two days after his appointment he was replaced by Russian specialist Sergei Yuran. The club earned silver medals in their first season of play. On 14 November 2010, Holger Fach guided Astana to their first Kazakhstan Cup success. However, they were ineligible for a UEFA license since they had not yet existed for at least three years. So they were not able to start in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League. On 2 March 2011, Astana beat Tobol 2–1 and won the Kazakhstan Super Cup for the first time. In 2012, Miroslav Beránek led Astana to win their second Kazakhstan Cup. In July 2013, the club made a debut in Europe playing in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League against Botev Plovdiv. Astana lost both matches, 0–1 at home and 0–5 away. On 4 July 2013, Astana officially joined to newly created Astana Presidential Sports Club, the organization supported by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna to combine the main sports teams in Astana.
Stoilov years: Domestic dominance and European breakthrough (2014–2018)
On 22 June 2014, the club announced that former Botev Plovdiv manager Stanimir Stoilov was appointed as new head coach. In 2014–15 European campaign, Astana played four ties in the UEFA Europa League qualifying stages. In the first round they beat Pyunik 6–1 on aggregate, then raised more than a few eyebrows in the second round, beating Hapoel Tel Aviv 3–1 on aggregate thanks to a convincing home leg win. The third qualifying round saw Astana cruise past AIK, with a 4–1 aggregate score. In the play-off round, Astana was defeated by Villarreal. On 1 November 2014, Astana became Kazakhstan Premier League champions for the first time in their history, securing the championship with a 3–0 home win against Kaisar.
On 1 March 2015, Astana won the 2015 Kazakhstan Super Cup, beating Kairat 3–2 in a penalty shoot-out after the match ended with the score 0–0. On 26 August 2015, the club became the first team from Kazakhstan to reach the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, after beating APOEL 2–1 on aggregate in the play-off round. They were drawn in Group C alongside Benfica, Atlético Madrid and Galatasaray, where they managed to obtain four points in six games after four draws and two losses. On 8 November 2015, Astana clinched their second Kazakhstan Premier League title beating Aktobe 1–0 at home in the last tour game. On 9 December 2015, the club extended their contract with Stanimir Stoilov for the next two years.
In the 2016 season, Astana was eliminated from UEFA Champions League after two stages, being defeated by Celtic in the third qualifying round 3–2 on aggregate. However, the club qualified for the UEFA Europa League group stage, beating BATE in the play-off round. On 26 October 2016, Astana won their third straight championship under Stoilov's rule. On 19 November 2016, the club won the 2016 Kazakhstan Cup, defeating Kairat 1–0. Their 2017 Champions League bid was stopped short once again by Celtic, this time in the playoff round. Following an embarrassing 5–0 rout in Glasgow, they failed to reach the group stages in an 8–4 defeat on aggregate. However, Astana reached another milestone by reaching the knockout phase of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League after finishing second in the group phase. Astana extended further its domestic dominance by winning fourth consecutive title in the 2017 season. On 8 January 2018, Stoilov signed a new contract with Astana, but left the club on 1 March 2018 to take over the vacant Kazakhstan national football team's manager position.
Post Stoilov years: (2018–)
On the same day as Stoilov was announced as the new manager of Kazakhstan, 1 March 2018, Grigori Babayan was announced as the Astana's interim manager. On 1 June 2018, Astana announced Roman Hryhorchuk as the club's new manager. On 17 August 2018, Hryhorchuk left Astana on compassionate leave with Grigori Babayan again stepping in as Caretaker Manager. Astana announced on 3 January 2019 that Hryhorchuk would return to lead the team after missing the second half of the 2018 season due to family reasons.
On 14 January 2019, Paul Ashworth was announced as the new executive director of FC Astana.
Hryhorchuk left Astana by mutual consent on 13 January 2020. The following day, 14 January 2020, Michal Bílek was announced as the new head coach of Astana.
On 18 February 2020, Astana revealed a new logo to commemorate 10-years of the club.
On 26 August 2020, with Astana 2nd in the league and having just been knocked out of the UEFA Champions League, Michal Bílek was sacked as manager, with Executive Director Paul Ashworth taking over in a caretaker capacity. Ashworth his role as caretaker manager and executive director by mutual consent on 7 October 2020. Two days later, 9 October, David Loria was announced as the clubs new executive director. On 16 October 2020, former captain Andrey Tikhonov was appointed as the clubs new manager.
On 5 November 2021, Astana announced the departure of Andrey Tikhonov as their manager, with Srđan Blagojević being announced as the clubs new head coach on 21 November 2021. On 13 September 2022, Blagojević left Astana by mutual consent to become Head Coach of Debreceni, with Grigori Babayan returning to the club as their new Head Coach.
Astana qualified for the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage in the 2023–24 season and finished 3rd in their group.
Stadium
Astana's current home venue is Astana Arena. The stadium has been Astana's home since the mid of the 2009 season, when the club moved from the Kazhymukan Munaitpasov Stadium. The stadium holds 30,254 and has a retractable roof. The inaugural match at the new stadium was a 2–1 win over the Kazakhstan national under-21 football team in a friendly match. It is also serves as a national stadium for the Kazakhstan national football team.
Colours and crest
The team's original crest was introduced in 2009, featuring the team's name, 'Football Club Lokomotiv Astana', on a blue circular frame, with a blue letter 'L' in the centre symbolising a railway track. Following the club's renaming in 2011, a new crest was adopted. It displayed the team's name in uppercase letters on an image of a football, accompanied by the words 'football club' in Kazakh and Russian at the top and bottom of the crest. On 23 January 2013, the club unveiled a new crest that echoed the style and colours of the Lokomotiv Astana crest. It featured an image of a football in a shanyrak style, flanked by two Kazakh national patterns on each side. The current crest was introduced on 10 March 2014, incorporating the style and colours of the Astana Presidential Club crest, as well as those of BC Astana, the Astana Pro Team, and the Astana Dakar Team. The crest now consists of the team's name, 'Astana Football Club', placed beneath a flying ball.
Blue and white were initially the club's primary colours, and the team's nickname was the 'Blue‑and‑White'. Blue was used as an accent colour on the home jersey, while white was the main colour of the away kit. During the 2012 season, Astana wore yellow and blue striped shirts with blue shorts as the home kit, and a wholly blue away kit. In 2013, they reverted to the original colours used from 2009 to 2011. That same year, the club joined the Astana Presidential Club and adopted its colours. The current club colours are sky blue and yellow. Astana's current shirt sponsor is the Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna. The club's first kit sponsorship was from the national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, which sponsored the club for four years before ending the deal in 2013. The team's kit supplier has been Adidas since the club's inception.
In March 2023, Astana announced Chery as their new sponsor, whilst also confirming their switch to Nike.
The club announced the return of their old crest after competing in their Europa Conference League group.
Players
First team squad
As of 20 July 2026
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
For recent transfers, see List of Kazakhstan football transfers summer 2026.
Non-playing staff
Notable managers
The following managers won at least one trophy when in charge of Astana:
Honours
Kazakhstan Premier League
Winners (7): 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
Runners-up (5): 2009, 2013, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025
Kazakhstan Cup
Winners (3): 2010, 2012, 2016
Runners-up (1): 2015
Kazakhstan League Cup
Winners (1): 2024
Kazakhstan Super Cup
Winners (6): 2011, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023
Runners-up (4): 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021
Statistics
Seasons
Key
Rank = Rank in the Kazakhstan Premier League; P = Played; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points; Cup = Kazakhstan Cup; LC = Kazakhstan League Cup; CL = UEFA Champions League; EL = UEFA Europa League; ECL = UEFA Europa Conference League.
in = Still in competition; — = Not attended; 1R = 1st round; 2R = 2nd round; 3R = 3rd round; 1QR = 1st qualifying round; 2QR = 2nd qualifying round; 3QR = 3rd qualifying round; PO = Play-off round; GS = Group stage; R32 = Round of 32; R16 = Round of 16; QF = Quarter-finals; SF = Semi-finals; F = Final.
Records
As of match played 18 July 2025
Record European victory 4–0 v. Maccabi Tel Aviv (19 October 2017)
Record European defeat 6–0 v. AZ (24 October 2019)
Record League victory – 7–0 v. Atyrau (9 September 2017), Turan (18 July 2025)
Record League defeat – 0–5 v. Irtysh (26 May 2011)
Most consecutive League game wins – 8, 7 April 2009 – 30 April 2009
Most League appearances – 308, Abzal Beisebekov 2009, 2012–Present
Most appearances overall – 433, Abzal Beisebekov 2009, 2012–Present
Most goals scored in a League season – 19, Junior Kabananga 2017 & Marin Tomasov 2019
Most goals scored in a season overall – 26, Marin Tomasov 2019
Youngest first-team player – Madi Zhakypbayev, 15 years, 11 months, 21 days
Oldest first-team player – Andrey Tikhonov, 39 years, 9 days
European record
UEFA club competition record
As of match played 16 July 2026
Key
1QR = First qualifying round; 2QR = Second qualifying round; 3QR = Third qualifying round; PO = Play-off round; GS = Group stage; LP = League phase; R32 = Round of 32.
UEFA coefficient
Correct as of 21 May 2025.
Player history
Most appearances
As of match played 12 September 2026
Players played over 50 competitive, professional matches only. Appearances as substitute (goals in parentheses) included in total.
Top goalscorers
As of match played 12 September 2026
Competitive, professional matches only, appearances including substitutes appear in brackets.
Clean sheets
As of match played 12 September 2026
Competitive, professional matches only, appearances including substitutes appear in brackets.
Partnerships
Real Sociedad (2013–present)
On 11 November 2013 it was announced that Astana had partnered with the La Liga team Real Sociedad to cooperate in terms of exchange of skills and knowledge, organization of friendly matches, training camps for youth development and grassroots football.
Galatasaray S.K. (2014–present)
On 29 April 2014 it was announced that Astana Presidential Club had signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Galatasaray Sports Club. The memorandum chiefly provides for cooperation between the Astana and Galatasaray S.K. football departments.