In 2020, the countries of the Eurasian Union will be legally allowed to play freely in team sports and will not be considered "legionnaires". How did it affect Kazakhstan football? ⠀
The moment before the abolition of the concept of legionnaire in the Eurasian Union
2019 Number of Legionnaires
Serbia 17
Ukraine 10
Croatia 9
Belarus 7
Russia 5
Armenia 3
Kyrgyzstan 0
Karaganda's Shakhter was in (9th place) in the national championship in 2019 and it did not have any players from the Eurasian Union.
A year not considered a legionnaire
2020 Number of Legionnaires
Russia 24
Serbia 16
Belarus 12
Armenia 6
Kyrgyzstan 1
In 2020, the club signed contracts with 7 players in the Eurasian Union. Not being a legionnaire on the field, Shakhter did not trust domestic players and ended the season with a sensational 4th place with players from other countries. As a result, this year they will play in the Conference League.
2021 Number of Legionnaires
Russia 22
Serbia 16
Ukraine 10
Belarus 8
Armenia 6
Kyrgyzstan 2
Kyzylzhar is one of the clubs that successfully spends the season with foreign players in 2021 (6th place). If you look at the statistics of the last games, "Kyzylzhar" sought the help of only 2 domestic players.
Ali Suyumagombetov (veteran of Kazakh football):
I can not say that the players from the Eurasian Union have improved the quality of the championship of Kazakhstan. In most cases, footballers who are unable to continue their careers in their home country come to Kazakhstan to play. Not all. But I think it is better to give young players in the country a chance than to pay high salaries to 60-70% of footballers.
According to Transfermarkt.ru, Kazakhstan is one of the championships where Russian football players play the most.
Germany - 173
Estonia - 85
Belarus - 57
Armenia - 26
Kazakhstan - 24
The words of the experts that the way would be opened for Kazakh footballers did not come true. Our footballers could not play in the neighboring Russian championship ... ⠀
2018-2019: ⠀
Russian Championship. ⠀
2 footballers ⠀
Bakhtiyar Zainutdinov (Rostov) - 10 games. ⠀
Erkebulan Seydakhmet (Ufa) - 1 game. ⠀
2019-2020. ⠀
3 footballers. ⠀
Bakhtiyar Zainutdinov (Rostov) - 17 games. ⠀
Islambek Kuat (Orenburg) - 3 games. ⠀
Akmal Bakhtiyarov (Sochi) - 2 games. ⠀
2020-2021. ⠀
6 players ⠀
Bakhtiyar Zainutdinov (CSKA) - 22 games. ⠀
Marat Bystrov (Akhmat) - 22 games. ⠀
Islambek Kuat (Khimki) - 6 games. ⠀
Alexey Shchetkin (Rotor) - 5 games. ⠀
Dmitry Shomko (Rotor) - 4 games ⠀
Akmal Bakhtiyarov (Sochi) - 1 game. Played only 7 minutes. ⠀
Right now: ⠀
- Akmal Bakhtiyarov played 11 games for the club "Noa" in the championship of Armenia and transferred to the club "Dolgoprudny" in the Russian division (FNL). ⠀
- Dmitry Shomko - "Rotor" transferred to "Aktobe" after leaving the Russian Premier League. ⠀
- Islambek Kuat did not stay long in the team of "Khimki" and signed a contract with the club "Astana" in the national championship.
Has the change in football within the Eurasian Union made a positive change in Kazakh football or is it a setback? The decision is yours!
Kanat Baiuzakov
The national portal "Adyrna"
