Real Madrid madness descends on Almaty ahead of historic UCL clash

Next Tuesday, on September 30th, Real Madrid take on FC Kairat in Almaty in the second matchday of the 25/26 Champions League. The contest marks a historic day for the club, the tournament, and all of Kazakhstan as Los Blancos embark on the 10,000 mile round trip from the Spanish capital. Local fans are anxious to see the likes of Mbappé, Vinicius, Bellingham, Huijsen, and Arda Güler at close quarters and the game in Almaty has aroused passion in the city of Almaty which lies just 180 miles from the Chinese border.

Tickets went on sale Tuesday to see Xabi Alonso’s team in action with interest to see the LaLiga side rocketing. According to the country’s news agency, Kazinform, nearly 80,000 fans were queuing online at ticket purchase portals hoping to get a ticket (two tickets per person are allowed). The servers couldn’t keep up with so many requests, and the ticket sales portals crashed. Fans of the Almaty club have been constantly complaining on social media. These requests triple the available capacity at the Almaty Central stadium, which has a capacity of 23,000 spectators.

This isn’t the only inconvenience Kairat fans will have to deal with. Tickets have gone on sale at prices ranging from 30,000 tenge (Kazakhstan’s currency) to 250,000 tenge for the most expensive seats. That’s between $50 and almost $500. These are exorbitant prices for a European country. According to several sources, the minimum monthly wage in Kazakhstan is around 100,000 tenge ($170).

Kairat Almaty qualified for the Champions League on merit after progressing through the rounds, defeating Olimpia Ljubljana, KUPS, Slovan Bratislava, and Celtic Glasgow. On Matchday 1, they lost 4-1 to Sporting de Portugal at Alvalade.