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

With the support of the Halyk Charitable Fund, the HALYK OPEN CUP – 2024 republican football tournament was held in the village of Kargaly, Almaty Region. Organized under the #AuylFootball initiative, the event brought together 32 winning teams from regional competitions—totaling 450 children from across Kazakhstan.

“There are many tournaments, but they’re often inaccessible for rural teams due to costs for uniforms, entry fees, and travel. Thanks to the Halyk Charitable Fund’s sponsorship, all expenses were covered, allowing full participation,”
— Serik Mambetov, Project Manager of #AuylFootball

The tournament crowned Namys-Kyzyl Tobe from Mangystau Region as champions. Coach Perdebek Kashkambayev was named Best Coach, and Abzal Baymukhan received Best Player. Other standout awards included:

• Best Forward: Omar Birzhan (Altyn Tobe, Turkestan Region)
• Best Goalkeeper: Nuraly Ganiuly (RedSapsans, Almaty Region)
• Best Defender: Artem Ritter (Rakhat, Kostanay Region) and Bogdan Krause (Zarya, Pavlodar Region)
• Fair Play Trophy: Spartans (Tselinograd District, Akmola Region)

Winners received medals, cups, football gear, sportswear, and books.

“Thanks to the Halyk Fund, #AuylFootball has grown from 24 to 110 teams. Coaches have completed UEFA Category D training, and youth interest in football has surged,”
— Galymbek Zhaksylykov, Director of the Halyk Fund’s Almaty Branch

The event also featured seminars for rural coaches on football management, SMM, child psychology, inclusive sports, and safety. A highlight was the presentation of Burkit, an adaptive football team for children with speech impairments.

The tournament was held under a memorandum between the Halyk Charitable Fund and project author Serik Bolatovich Mambetov. Since its founding in 2016, the Fund has implemented over 120 social projects totaling 85 billion tenge, including nearly 500 million tenge for rural sports development.