The Kazakhstan football federation is to build 100 mini-pitches in Kazakhstan’s schools. The pitches will be funded through the FIFA Arena project.

The FIFA Arena project is FIFA’s grass roots infrastructure programme that was launched in 2024. It envisages the installation of a minimum of 1,000 mini-pitches globally; each 20 x 40 pitch will meet the latest FIFA technical standards. The project is focused on providing children and youth with affordable, quality and safe football infrastructure.

The Kazakhstan Football Federation is among 11 national associations FIFA has selected to implement its global infrastructure project. Other countries include Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Armenia, Georgia, Algeria, Laos, Paraguay and Thailand. The list could be extended in a second phase of the project.

Non-infill

To avoid the possibility of (micro-)plastic pollution, all fields will be finished with a non-fill synthetic turf surface. Another reason why FIFA selected this surface is that it hardly requires any maintenance. FIFAs decision is remarkable as it hasn’t approved this type of surface yet for roll-out in accordance to its Quality Football Turf programme. Those in favor of the surface, argue that it requires a different set of test methods to validate its quality. The issue is still being debated in the FIFA Technical Advisory Group. At present, it isn’t clear by when the FIFA will give non-fill synthetic turf the green light for incorporation in the FIFA Quality Football Turf programme.