HALYK OPEN CUP 2024: A Landmark Football Tournament Where the Dreams of 450 Rural Children Came True.

With the support of the Halyk Charity Foundation, the republican football tournament “HALYK OPEN CUP – 2024” was held in the village of Kargaly in the Almaty region. This event, aimed at supporting the interest of rural youth in sports, was organized within the framework of the #AuylFootball project, and the general sponsor was the Halyk Charity Foundation.

The tournament was attended by 32 teams from all over Kazakhstan. They are the winners of regional HALYK OPEN CUP competitions held in different regions of the country, and have previously distinguished themselves with the best results. In total, there are 450 children.

‘There are many tournaments, but they are often inaccessible for rural teams, as funding is needed for uniforms, entry fees (ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 tenge), and team transportation. These are the main challenges in rural sports. At this tournament, thanks to the Halyk Charitable Foundation’s title sponsorship, teams were provided with equipment and uniforms, travel expenses were covered, and participation in the tournament was free. This time, the Halyk Charitable Foundation fully covered all expenses for 450 teams from across the country,’ — said Serik Mambetov, Project Manager of #AuylFootball.

The championship title went to the Namys-Kyzyl Tobe team from the Mangystau Region. The team’s coach, Perdebek Kashkambayev, was named ‘Best Coach of the Tournament,’ and Abzal Baymukhan received the title of ‘Best Player.’ The silver medal was awarded to the Altyn Tobe team from the Kazygurt District of the Turkestan Region. Their forward, Omar Birzhan, who scored 11 goals, was named ‘Best Forward.’ Third place went to the RedSapsans team from the Almaty Region, with their goalkeeper, Nuraly Ganiuly, recognized as ‘Best Goalkeeper.’

The “Best Defender” award was given to the players of the “Rakhat” team from the Kostanay region Artem Ritter and the “Zarya” team from Pavlodar Bogdan Krause. The special “FIR PLAY TROPHY” award for an example of fair play was given to the “SPARTANS” team from the Tselinograd district of the Akmola region.

The winners and runners-up of the tournament were awarded cups, medals and valuable prizes, including football uniforms, sportswear, balls and books for children.

‘This project is one of many initiatives by the Halyk Charitable Foundation aimed at supporting those in need across the country and improving the quality of life for the population. The foundation allocated nearly 500 million tenge to develop sports in rural areas. In addition, since its founding in 2016 under the leadership of Timur Kulibayev, the Halyk Foundation has implemented over 120 social projects totaling 85 billion tenge.

‘Thanks to the support of the foundation, #AuylFootball has reached a new level. The number of teams in the project has quadrupled in a short time, from 24 to 110, and coaches have undergone UEFA Category D training. The foundation’s support has opened new opportunities for the development of youth football and increased young people’s interest in sports,’ — said Galymbek Zhaksylikov, Director of the Almaty Branch of the Halyk Foundation.

As part of the tournament, seminars and practical sessions were held for rural coaches on football management, SMM, child athlete psychology, working with children with special needs, and child safety. Special training sessions also took place, and the inclusive team Burkit, created at a center for children with speech impairments, was presented to promote adaptive football.

It is worth noting that this large-scale work is being carried out within the framework of a memorandum between the Halyk charity foundation and the author of the project, Serik Bolatovich Mambetov.