Kazakhstan’s lower house of parliament, the Mazhilis, has approved in its first reading a bill on physical culture and sports that would ban the funding of foreign athletes (legionnaires) from the state budget and national companies with government stakes. However, even if this bill is enacted, Kazakh sports teams will retain a legal avenue to invite athletes from Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries using public funds.

For the first time, Kazakhstan’s national legislature is proposing a provision prohibiting the use of state funds to finance athletes who are not citizens of Kazakhstan, with the goal of prioritizing Kazakh athletes in terms of both sports representation and financial support. Minister of Tourism and Sports Yerbol Myrzabasynov has also suggested setting a cap on state funding for professional sports clubs, which would vary by sport according to national priorities. “The freed funds will be redirected towards children’s and youth sports, including boarding schools, youth sports schools, sports reserves, and facility upgrades,” Myrzabasynov explained. The bill was approved in the first reading.

Currently, government funding for sports clubs in Kazakhstan comes from two main sources. Teams competing internationally, such as the Barys hockey team in the Continental Hockey League, the Astana basketball team in the VTB United League, and the Astana cycling team in the World Tour, receive support from the Samruk-Kazyna fund. Other teams in soccer, hockey, basketball, and volleyball competing in Kazakhstan’s national championships are funded by local budgets, with Astana’s soccer team – which also receives sponsorship from the Samruk-Kazyna fund – being the sole exception. Should the bill pass, these teams will need to rely on Kazakh athletes — or athletes from EAEU countries such as Russia, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan.

The Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union, enacted in January 2015, promotes the free movement of services, goods, capital, and labor across member states, ensuring equal labor rights and remuneration for citizens of EAEU countries. This treaty means that Kazakh clubs cannot restrict funding for athletes from EAEU nations without breaching international commitments. In Kazakh soccer, for instance, EAEU athletes are not counted as foreign players in the Premier League, a policy instituted after the Kazakhstan Football Federation set a limit on foreign players several years ago, capping each team’s roster at eight foreign players per season. Athletes from Russia, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan, however, are treated as domestic players due to Kazakhstan’s international obligations.

This arrangement stems from Kazakhstan’s Law on Legal Acts, which stipulates that ratified international treaties take precedence over national laws. Therefore, if the bill banning foreign athletes’ funding from the state budget is fully enacted, EAEU athletes will remain exempt from this ban. The bill must still pass through a second reading in the Mazhilis, two readings in the Senate, and obtain presidential approval before it becomes law.

Questions remains as to whether Kazakh sports clubs will use this provision to hire athletes from EAEU countries, given potential legal challenges. Local administrations (akimats) who would be affected by any restrictions on funding for Russian or Belarusian athletes could hypothetically encourage clubs to pursue legal action to establish a precedent for continued public funding of EAEU athletes. In Kazakhstan, court rulings carry nationwide legal authority, so a favorable decision would provide akimats with a legal basis to bypass any restrictions.

In Kazakh hockey, Russian players already comprise a significant portion of team rosters, ranging from a third (e.g., Karaganda’s Saryarka) to half (e.g., Petropavlovsk’s Kulager). In soccer, the presence of Russian and Belarusian players has been comparatively modest, though their numbers may rise sharply if this funding ban is enacted.

Alexander Shevchenko, Alexander Bublik, Elena Rybakina and Yulia Putintseva number among a pleyhora of tennis players who have switched nationality from Russia to Kazakhstan, with the latter three all having accepted support from the Kazakh tennis federation as teenagers.