# 2023 Kazakhstan Premier League

The 2023 Kazakhstan Premier League was the 32nd season of the Kazakhstan Premier League, the highest football league competition in Kazakhstan.
The winners (Ordabasy) qualified for the first qualifying round of the Champions League. The 2023 Kazakhstan Cup winners (Tobol) qualified for the first qualifying round of the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League. The runners-up (Astana) qualified for the second qualifying round of the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League, with the third-placed team (Aktobe) qualifying for the first qualifying round. The bottom three teams (Aksu, Caspiy, and Okzhetpes) and Maktaaral (relegated due to failing licensing process for the 2024 season) were relegated to the 2024 Kazakhstan First Division.

## Teams

Akzhayik, Turan (both relegated after 2 seasons in top flight) and Taraz (relegated after 4 seasons in top flight) were all relegated at the end of the 2022 season. They were replaced by Okzhetpes (promoted after a 2 seasons absence), Kaisar and Zhetysu (both clubs promoted after a single season absence) from the Kazakhstan First League. FC Astana entered the season as defending champions after winning their seventh title the previous season.

### Team overview

| Team | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| Aksu | Pavlodar | Central Stadium | 11,828 |
| Aktobe | Aktobe | Central Stadium | 12,729 |
| Astana | Astana | Astana Arena | 30,200 |
| Atyrau | Atyrau | Munaishy Stadium | 8,900 |
| Caspiy | Aktau | Zhastar Stadium | 5,000 |
| Kairat | Almaty | Central Stadium | 23,804 |
| Kaisar | Kyzylorda | Gany Muratbayev Stadium | 7,500 |
| Kyzylzhar | Petropavl | Karasai Stadium | 11,000 |
| Maktaaral | Atakent | Alpamys Batyr Stadium | 3,000 |
| Okzhetpes | Kokshetau | Alisher Sagynbayev Stadium | 4,158 |
| Ordabasy | Shymkent | Kazhymukan Munaitpasov Stadium | 20,000 |
| Shakhter | Karaganda | Shakhter Stadium | 19,500 |
| Tobol | Kostanay | Central Stadium | 9,500 |
| Zhetysu | Taldykorgan | Samat Suyumbayev Stadium | 4,000 |

### Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Aksu | Adnan Timurbayev | Ruslan Esimov | Joma | Olimpbet |
| Aktobe | Andrei Karpovich | Adilkhan Tanzharikov | Adidas | Olimpbet |
| Astana | Grigori Babayan | Abzal Beisebekov | Nike | Samruk Kazyna, Olimpbet, Chery, SportQory |
| Atyrau | Vitaly Zhukovsky | Igor Stasevich | Macron | GAZ Stroy Montazh KZ, Olimpbet |
| Caspiy | Konstantin Gorovenko | Nurlybek Ayazbaev | Hummel | KazAzot, Rixos Wather World |
| Kairat | Kirill Keker | Sergey Keiler | Joma | 1XBET |
| Kaisar | Viktor Kumykov | Ruslan Sakhalbaev | Joma | |
| Kyzylzhar | Ali Aliyev | Erkin Tapalov | Diadora | Olimpbet |
| Maktaaral | Kayrat Nurdauletov | Ruslan Yudenkov | Nike | |
| Okzhetpes | Maksat Babayev | Zhasulan Moldakaraev | Joma | |
| Ordabasy | Aleksandr Sednyov | Askhat Tagybergen | Nike | Olimpbet |
| Shakhter | Igor Soloshenko | Igor Shatsky | Joma | Olimpbet |
| Tobol | Milić Ćurčić | Serikzhan Muzhikov | Adidas | Polymetal, Olimpbet |
| Zhetysu | Askar Kozhabergenov | Andrey Pasechenko | Nike | Kainar |

### Foreign players

The number of foreign players is restricted to eight per KPL team. A team can use only five foreign players on the field in each game. From the 2020 season, the KFF announced that players from countries of the Eurasian Economic Union would not be counted towards a club's foreign player limit.
For transfers during the season, see Winter 2022–23 transfers and Summer 2023 transfers.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Player 6 | Player 7 | Player 8 | EAEU Players | Former Players |
| Aksu | Nikola Eskić | Bryan Garcia | Mailson Lima | David Mawutor | Alex Junior | Faith Obilor | Chidi Osuchukwu | Marko Nikolić | Andrey Solovey Yevgeny Zemko Yevgeni Kobzar Arsen Siukayev | Alyaksandr Hutar Luiz Guedes Toni Silva Kayrat Zhyrgalbek uulu Gilson Costa Islam Zhilov Artur Murza |
| Aktobe | Leonel Strumia | China | Élder Santana | Andrija Filipović | Luka Gadrani | Ihab Ganayem | Anderson Niangbo | Miloš Raičković | Dmitry Bessmertny Roman Izotov Miroslav Lobantsev Dmitri Yashin | Hugo Vidémont Artūras Žulpa Daniil Penchikov Idris Umayev |
| Astana | Stjepan Lončar | Josip Čondrić | Marin Tomasov | Dembo Darboe | Žarko Tomašević | Aleksa Amanović | Dušan Jovančić | Fabien Ourega | Varazdat Haroyan Kamo Hovhannisyan Max Ebong | Igor Ivanović |
| Atyrau | Matheus Bissi | Domantas Antanavičius | Demir Imeri | Florijan Kadriu | Effiong Nsungusi | Jakob Novak | Fatkhullo Olimzoda | Oleksandr Noyok | Yegor Khatkevich Ihar Stasevich Nikita Stepanov Yevgeni Kozlov Soslan Takulov | Maksym Dehtyarov |
| Caspiy | Shqiprim Taipi | Stefan Kocev | Filip Avric | Žiga Ovsenek | | | | | Ilya Chernyak Maksim Plotnikov Georgi Bugulov Mikhail Chernomyrdin Solomon Udo | Dmitry Podstrelov Aleksey Zalesky Jaba Jighauri Giorgi Pantsulaia Erzhan Tokotayev Vilius Armanavičius Rúben Brígido Stanislav Krapukhin Abdoulaye Diakate |
| Kairat | João Paulo | Macky Bagnack | Ofri Arad | | | | | | Anton Krachkovsky Dmitry Sergeyev Vadim Ulyanov Viktor Vasin | Gulzhigit Alykulov |
| Kaisar | João Pedro | Ben Aziz Zagré | Giorgi Bukhaidze | Geo Danny Ekra | Goran Milojko | Vitaliy Pryndeta | Nikola Dišić | Ștefan Sicaci | Dzmitry Baradzin Vasily Sovpel Vladimir Ghinaitis | Prosper Mendy |
| Kyzylzhar | Pablo Podio | Mladen Veselinović | Ivan Graf | Luka Imnadze | Darko Bulatović | Boris Smiljanić | Yuriy Bushman | Dmytro Khlyobas | Yevgeny Beryozkin Nikita Naumov Roman Stepanov Maksim Chikanchi | Bryan Van Den Bogaert Pernambuco Rafael Sabino Tamaz Makatsaria |
| Maktaaral | Victor Braga | Charleston | Billal Sebaihi | Lasha Parunashvili | Dramane Koné | Serge Nyuiadzi | | | Aram Ayrapetyan Anton Shramchenko Uladzislaw Kasmynin Ruslan Yudenkov Odilzhon Abdurakhmanov Yegor Potapov | Petros Avetisyan Juan Sandoval Junior Kabananga Sékou Doumbia Shada Ouedraogo |
| Okzhetpes | Benjamin Tatar | Srđan Dimitrov | Maksym Drachenko | Dmytro Ryzhuk | Ivan Tsyupa | | | | Ruslan Bolov Nikita Chagrov Vyacheslav Grab Aleksei Tatayev | Aleksandr Dzhigero Ivan Brikner |
| Ordabasy | Auro Jr. | Bernardo Matić | Jorginho | Mamadou Mbodj | Artem Byesyedin | Yevheniy Makarenko | Shokhboz Umarov | Bobur Abdikholikov | Vsevolod Sadovsky | Victor Braga Radosav Petrović |
| Shakhter | Roger Cañas | Francisco Mina | Temur Chogadze | Anton Tolordava | Stefan Bukorac | | | | | Đorđe Ćosić |
| Tobol | Jovan Ilic | Momčilo Mrkaić | Serges Déblé | Igor Ivanović | Bojan Mlađović | Ivan Rogač | Miljan Vukadinović | Yevhen Shakhov | Pavel Zabelin Albert Gabarayev Pavel Kireyenko Ivan Konovalov | Timur Akmurzin Igor Sergeyev Asmir Suljić |
| Zhetysu | Mate Tsintsadze | Moussa Bakayoko | Didier Kadio | Nikola Cuckić | Aleksandar Ješić | Anes Rušević | Ivan Brikner | | Pavel Nazarenko Layonel Adams Sergei Revyakin | Ilias Hassani Ruslan Teverov Rati Ardazishvili Fadi Zidan Danilo Aleksic Jovan Stojanović |
In bold: Players that have been capped for their national team.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Shakhter Karagandy | Vakhid Masudov | | | Pre-Season | Igor Soloshenko | 18 January 2023 |
| Tobol | Milan Milanović | | | Pre-Season | Milic Curcic | 10 January 2023 |
| Caspiy | Kakhaber Tskhadadze | Mutual Termination | 13 April 2023 | 14th | Igor Angelovski | 18 April 2023 |
| Zhetysu | Almas Kulshinbaev | | 26 April 2023 | 10th | Askar Kozhabergenov | 26 April 2023 |
| Aksu | Ruslan Kostyshyn | Mutual agreement | 28 April 2023 | 13th | Oyrat Saduov (Caretaker) | 29 April 2023 |
| Aksu | Oyrat Saduov (Caretaker) | End of role | 3 May 2023 | 13th | Vakhid Masudov | 4 May 2023 |
| Maktaaral | Konstantin Gorovenko | Resigned | 14 May 2023 | 14th | Ruslan Esatov (Caretaker) | 14 May 2023 |
| Maktaaral | Ruslan Esatov (Caretaker) | End of role | 19 May 2023 | 14th | Kayrat Nurdauletov | 19 May 2023 |
| Okzhetpes | Sergei Popkov | Sacked | 10 July 2023 | 11th | Andrey Ferapontov | 11 July 2023 |
| Caspiy | Igor Angelovski | Resigned | 18 July 2023 | 13th | Sashko Poposki (Caretaker) | 18 July 2023 |
| Caspiy | Sashko Poposki (Caretaker) | Resigned | 2 August 2023 | 13th | Konstantin Gorovenko | 2 August 2023 |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Ordabasy (C) | 26 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 48 | 21 | +27 | 58 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Astana | 26 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 36 | 24 | +12 | 53 | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Aktobe | 26 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 44 | 23 | +21 | 50 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Kairat | 26 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 44 | 32 | +12 | 44 | |
| 5 | Kyzylzhar | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 25 | 23 | +2 | 39 | |
| 6 | Kaisar | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 31 | 30 | +1 | 36 | |
| 7 | Atyrau | 26 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 24 | 27 | −3 | 34 | |
| 8 | Tobol | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 29 | 33 | −4 | 34 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 9 | Maktaaral (R, D) | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 29 | 32 | −3 | 29 | Expelled from league |
| 10 | Shakhter Karagandy | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 31 | 36 | −5 | 29 | |
| 11 | Zhetysu | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 27 | 38 | −11 | 29 | |
| 12 | Okzhetpes (R) | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 26 | 37 | −11 | 27 | Relegation to the Kazakhstan First Division |
| 13 | Caspiy (R) | 26 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 28 | 44 | −16 | 20 | Relegation to the Kazakhstan First Division |
| 14 | Aksu (R) | 26 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 23 | 45 | −22 | 18 | Relegation to the Kazakhstan First Division |
* ↑ Tobol qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2023 Kazakhstan Cup.
* ↑ Maktaaral were expelled from the league due to failing licensing process.

### Results
#### Results table

| Home \ Away | AKS | AKT | AST | ATY | CAS | KRT | KSR | KYZ | MAK | OKZ | ORD | SHA | TOB | ZHE |
| Aksu | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 |
| Aktobe | 2–1 | | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Astana | 1–0 | 1–4 | | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Atyrau | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| Caspiy | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Kairat | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | | 0–3 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–3 |
| Kaisar | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Kyzylzhar | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Maktaaral | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Okzhetpes | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| Ordabasy | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 |
| Shakhter Karagandy | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–4 | | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Tobol | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | | 1–2 |
| Zhetysu | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | |

## Statistics
### Top scorers

    As of matches played on 29 October 2023
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | João Paulo | Kairat | 17 |
| 2 | Askhat Tagybergen | Ordabasy | 11 |
| 3 | Yevgeni Kozlov | Atyrau | 8 |
| 3 | Dzmitry Baradzin | Kaisar | 8 |
| 3 | Abat Aymbetov | Astana | 8 |
| 3 | Ramazan Karimov | Maktaaral | 8 |
| 3 | Artur Shushenachev | Kairat | 8 |
| 8 | Bobur Abdikholikov | Ordabasy | 7 |
| 8 | Serges Déblé | Tobol | 7 |
| 8 | Effiong Nsungusi | Atyrau | 7 |
| 8 | Ivan Sviridov | Shakhter Karagandy | 7 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref. |
| Marin Tomasov | Astana | Okzhetpes | 5–2 (H) | 27 September 2023 | |

### Clean sheets

    As of matches played 29 October 2023
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Yegor Khatkevich | Atyrau | 11 |
| 2 | Stas Pokatilov | Aktobe | 10 |
| 3 | Josip Čondrić | Astana | 9 |
| 4 | Bekkhan Shayzada | Ordabasy | 8 |
| 4 | Ștefan Sicaci | Kaisar | 8 |
| 6 | Raman Stsyapanaw | Kyzylzhar | 7 |
| 7 | Igor Shatsky | Shakhter Karagandy | 6 |
| 7 | Nikita Chagrov | Okzhetpes | 6 |
| 9 | Danil Ustimenko | Kairat | 5 |
| 9 | Ivan Konovalov | Tobol | 5 |

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Goal of the Month | Goal of the Month | References |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | References |
| March | Ali Aliyev | Kyzylzhar | Maksim Samorodov | Aktobe | Andrija Filipović | Aktobe | |
| April | Ali Aliyev | Kyzylzhar | João Paulo | Kairat | Askhat Tagybergen | Ordabasy | |
| May | Aleksandr Sednyov | Ordabasy | Askhat Tagybergen | Ordabasy | Ihar Stasevich | Atyrau | |
| June | Kayrat Nurdauletov | Maktaaral | João Paulo | Kairat | Alisher Kenzhegulov | Aktobe | |
| July | Milic Curcic | Tobol | Askhat Tagybergen | Ordabasy | | | |
| August | Kayrat Nurdauletov | Maktaaral | Askhat Tagybergen | Ordabasy | Andrija Filipović | Aktobe | |
| September | Andrei Karpovich | Aktobe | Askhat Tagybergen | Ordabasy | | | |

## Attendances

| # | Football club | Home games | Average attendance |
| 1 | FC Ordabasy | 13 | 16,602 |
| 2 | FC Kairat | 13 | 9,705 |
| 3 | FC Aktobe | 13 | 8,396 |
| 4 | FC Astana | 13 | 6,002 |
| 5 | FC Atyrau | 13 | 4,250 |
| 6 | FC Kaisar | 13 | 4,162 |
| 7 | FC Shakhter Karagandy | 13 | 4,108 |
| 8 | FC Aksu | 13 | 3,692 |
| 9 | FC Maktaaral | 13 | 2,527 |
| 10 | FC Tobol | 13 | 2,315 |
| 11 | FC Zhetysu | 13 | 2,000 |
| 12 | FC Caspiy | 13 | 1,908 |
| 13 | FC Kyzylzhar | 13 | 1,767 |
| 14 | FC Okzhetpes | 13 | 525 |
Source: European Football Statistics