FC Astana
The club
FC Astana were founded in 2009 as Lokomotiv Astana, initially sponsored by Kazakhstan's national railway company, and took the name Astana in 2011 after relocating to the capital city of the same name. The club plays at the Astana Arena, a 30,254-capacity stadium with a retractable roof, having moved there in 2009 from the Kazhymukan Munaitpasov Stadium. The club is owned by Samruk-Kazyna, Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund, and its current playing colours are sky blue and yellow.
The head coach is Grigori Babayan, in charge since 2022, with Sayan Khamitzhanov serving as chairman. Babayan succeeded Stanimir Stoilov, the Bulgarian who led the club through its most successful period from 2014 to 2018, winning four consecutive league titles and taking Astana into the Champions League group stage for the only time in the club's history.
Astana should not be confused with Zhenys, the other Kazakhstan Premier League club based in the city of Astana; the two are entirely separate institutions that happen to share a home city. Nor should it be confused with any lower-tier or reserve side also carrying the Astana name in Kazakhstan's junior divisions, which are administratively distinct from the top-flight club covered here.
Recent seasons
The Kazakhstan Premier League runs as a single calendar-year season rather than crossing years. In 2023 Astana finished second with 53 points from 26 matches, 16 wins, 5 draws and 5 defeats, 36 goals scored and 24 conceded, and reached the third qualifying round of the Conference League. In 2024 they won the Kazakhstan League Cup and reached the quarter-finals of the domestic cup, finishing the league with 46 points from 24 matches, 14 wins, 4 draws and 6 defeats, 39 scored and 19 conceded. In 2025 Astana finished second again behind champions Kairat Almaty, on 57 points from 26 matches, 17 wins, 6 draws and 3 defeats, 66 goals scored and only 30 conceded, and reached the domestic cup quarter-finals. That runners-up finish carried Astana into the 2026/27 Conference League qualifying rounds.
Honours and landmarks
Kazakhstan Premier League champions seven times: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022. Kazakhstan Cup winners in 2010, 2012 and 2016. Kazakhstan Super Cup winners in 2011, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2023. Kazakhstan League Cup winners in 2024. The club's landmark moment came in the 2015/16 Champions League, when Astana became the first team from Kazakhstan to reach the group stage of the competition, drawing four points from six matches against Benfica, Atlético Madrid and Galatasaray.
Notable scorelines
Astana's record European win is 4-0 at home to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 2017/18 Europa League group stage, part of a double over the Israeli club that also included a 1-0 away win. The record European defeat is 6-0 away to AZ Alkmaar in 2019. Domestically the club's record league win is 7-0, achieved against both Atyrau and Turan, most recently a 7-0 home win over Turan on 18 July 2025; the record league defeat is 0-5 against Irtysh. Astana's heaviest home attendance on record is 28,211, for a match against Aktobe on 19 October 2025.
European record
Astana debuted in Europe in the 2015/16 Champions League qualifying rounds, beating Maribor of Slovenia 3-2 on aggregate, HJK of Finland 4-3 on aggregate and APOEL of Cyprus 2-1 on aggregate to reach the group stage, where they took four points from Benfica, Atlético Madrid and Galatasaray without winning a match. In the 2016/17 Europa League they met Celtic, losing 2-3 on aggregate, and met Celtic again in 2017/18, this time losing far more heavily, 4-8 on aggregate after a 4-3 home defeat and a 0-5 away defeat.
The 2017/18 Europa League group stage was the club's best campaign outside the 2015/16 Champions League run: Astana finished second in their group, beating Maccabi Tel Aviv home and away, drawing with Slavia Prague and splitting results with Villarreal, before losing to Sporting Clube de Portugal in the knockout round, 4-6 on aggregate after a 1-3 home defeat and a 3-3 away draw.
In the 2021/22 Conference League, Astana beat Aris of Greece 3-2 on aggregate in the second qualifying round before losing to KuPS of Finland in the third qualifying round, 4-3 at home and 1-1 away for a 4-5 aggregate defeat that ended the run short of the group stage. Astana's full European record beyond the campaigns listed here was not established from the sources read here.
Head-to-head notes
Celtic are the closest thing Astana have to a recurring European opponent, having eliminated the Kazakh club in successive seasons, 2016/17 and 2017/18, with the second meeting a heavy 4-8 aggregate defeat. Maccabi Tel Aviv are the opponent Astana have beaten most convincingly in Europe, taking both legs of their 2017/18 group-stage meeting. Domestically, Astana's rivalry with Kairat Almaty has defined recent Kazakhstan Premier League title races, with Kairat finishing above Astana in the 2025 championship after Astana had been champions as recently as 2022.
Right now (2026/27)
Grigori Babayan remains head coach. Astana entered the 2026/27 Conference League in the first qualifying round and were eliminated by Dinamo City of Albania in July 2026; the precise scorelines for the two legs were not established from the sources read here, as the sources consulted gave conflicting figures, though it is clear the tie went to Dinamo City on aggregate.
Domestically, as of 25 August 2026 Astana sat third in the Kazakhstan Premier League with 39 points from 21 matches, 11 wins, 6 draws and 4 defeats, 34 goals scored and 22 conceded. Their home and away form have been starkly different, with ten home wins against only one away win in that span. The club's full run-in and any further 2026 cup involvement were not established from the sources read here.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Astana https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Kazakhstan_Premier_League https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026%E2%80%9327_UEFA_Europa_Conference_League https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026-27_UEFA_Europa_League https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Dinamo_City https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_football_clubs_in_Kazakhstan
Researched and written for not4quarters. Where a fact could not be established from the sources read, this page says so rather than guessing.