RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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A Kanye West concert has had a surprising impact on one football team that was trying to secure qualification for this season’s Champions League.
While the proper tournament does not kick off until later this year, qualification for the league phase is already underway.
Among the teams who were trying to secure a spot in the league were Kairat Almaty, who made history back in 2025/26 when they became the first team from Kazakhstan to make it to the main draw.
However, they were not so fortunate this time around, losing a recent qualifying match which they had to play hundreds of miles from their home stadium due to a Kanye West concert.
Photo credit should read PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP via Getty Images
Kairat Almaty were unable to play Champions League game at home stadium due to Kanye West concert
Almaty were playing against Bulgarian outfit Levski Sofia, and went into the second leg needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit.
The first leg was played in Bulgaria, and the second game should, in turn, have taken place at Kairat’s home stadium.
However, the Almaty Central Stadium has been booked by rapper Kanye for one of his comeback shows.
In turn, they had to face Levski Sofia at the Turkestan Arena, which is about 516 miles from their actual ground.
As a result, it was perhaps not surprising that without any real home advantage, they lost the second leg 1-0 and have been knocked out of the Champions League.
Almaty will now turn their attention back to the Kazakhstan Premier League, in which they are currently second.
They are four points off first place with a game in hand so they could still easily win the title this season.
But the extra revenue from making it into the Champions League’s league phase could have been an even bigger boost for a team of that size.
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