Kairat are based in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and have been in existence since 1954. They play at Almaty Central Stadium, giving them a clear identity in a football landscape Celtic do not meet often but cannot treat as obscure.
Their previous campaign ended with Kairat second in Kazakhstan’s Premier League. They finished strongly, winning five of their last six listed league matches, including a 5-0 home win over Okzhetpes and away victories at Atyrau, Okzhetpes and Kyzylzhar.
The squad is sizeable – 35 players with an average age of 25 – and is valued at around £11.5m by Transfermarkt. Dastan Satpaev led their scoring with four goals, followed by Jorge Gabriel 'Jorginho' Costa Monteiro on two, while Ofri Arad, Olzhas Baybek and Ismail Bekbolat also contributed.
Kairat also appeared in Champions League qualifying and the league phase, so they are not short of exposure to continental football. For Celtic supporters, they sit as a settled, competitive Kazakh side with recent form, a young squad profile and enough European context to merit proper attention.
