Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has announced the opening of its first football academy in Kazakhstan, extending the club’s global youth development network into Central Asia. The training center is due to begin operating in Astana in September.
According to PSG, Kazakhstan becomes the 24th country to join the PSG Academy network. Up to 300 boys and girls aged between six and 14 will begin training in September at the Air Arena indoor sports complex, which has an artificial pitch meeting FIFA standards. Local coaches will also undergo training based on the club’s development program and receive continuing support from PSG’s technical staff in Paris.
According to Almaz Alsenov, the founder of PSG Academy Kazakhstan, the organizers intend to expand beyond the capital by opening regional academies across the country. However, no locations or timetable for this expansion have been announced.
The PSG Academy network includes more than 200 training centers across what the club describes as 24 countries, providing football education to over 50,000 children each year. Unlike PSG’s selective professional youth academy, its international academies operate as franchised football schools and accept children of all ability levels. Comparable PSG Academy programs in other countries charge participation fees. The Astana academy has not published its prices or announced a scholarship scheme, making it difficult to assess how accessible it will be to lower-income families.
In 2025, Kazakhstan became one of the first countries to sign an agreement to join FIFA Arena, a global initiative under which FIFA is funding 100 mini-football pitches at Kazakh schools, primarily in smaller towns and rural areas. The program is due to be completed by 2027. According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, football is the country’s most widely played sport, with more than 1.1 million regular participants and over 40,000 young players training at 242 youth sports schools.
Dastan Satpayev’s move to Chelsea has also raised the international profile of Kazakh football. On July 28, the Kazakhstan international scored in his first appearance for Chelsea during a 6-4 pre-season victory over Western Sydney Wanderers. His transfer from Kairat is due to take effect when he turns 18 on August 12.
