Neftchi Nurzhan
Neftchi Nurzhan (Iradi: Neftchi, "oilman"; Russian: Нефтчи Нуржан) is a football club from Nurzhan that plays in the Irad League. Founded in 1958 as Neftyanik Kobozev, the team of the Soviet oil trust Iradneft, it is owned by NurGaz and plays at the 16,500-seat NurGaz Stadium. With 13 league titles between 1994 and 2025 it is the most successful club in Irad, and its rivalry with Tulpar Talas, the Kara-Ak derby, is the country's best-known fixture.[1]
History
Neftyanik was the strongest club of the Iradi Soviet Socialist Republic. It played in the Central Asian zone of the third tier of Soviet football, later the Second League, from 1971 to 1991, and spent the 1984 season in the First League. Its Koryo-saram striker Vadim Ten scored 141 league goals between 1975 and 1987.[2] During the First Iradi Civil War the club played exhibition matches in socialist-held Kobozev in the spring of 1992.
Under the naming rules of the Football Federation of Irad (FFI) of 1993, which required Iradi or neutral names, the club registered as Neftchi Nurzhan, but its supporters still call it "Neftyanik". It passed to NurGaz when Iradneft was converted into the company in 1993. Neftchi won eight of the first twelve Irad League titles. Rustam Bekzatov, a son of NurGaz president Kamran Bekzatov, has been club president since 2009. Since 2015 Tulpar has won more titles than Neftchi, but the club has remained its only consistent challenger.[1][3]
Stadium
The NurGaz Stadium opened in 1958 as the Neftyanik Stadium and took its present name in 1998. Its east stand is the home of the club's main supporters' group. Match-day stewarding is provided by the security company Kalkan, a NurGaz spin-off.[1][4]
Supporters
The main supporters' group, Vyshka ("Derrick"), was founded in 1999 in the city's housing estates; a smaller group, Kobozevtsy, founded in 2006, takes its name from the city's Soviet name. Most supporters chant in Russian: a 2021 study found that 71 percent of season-ticket holders spoke Russian at home, against 18 percent at Tulpar. IradOne's Russian-language channel carries its own commentary of Neftchi matches. Tulpar fans taunt the black-clad Neftchi crowd as "Morkhan's herd", and Vyshka has adopted the black as a badge of pride.[5]
Incidents and disputes
On 11 May 2014 the derby at the NurGaz Stadium was abandoned in the 62nd minute after fighting that began with Neftchi supporters' St. George ribbons and a banner reading "Kobozev – Russian city". About 60 people were hurt and about 140 detained by the Republican Gendarmerie of Irad, and away supporters were banned from the fixture for two seasons. The FFI's Stadium Order Regulations of 2015 followed.[6] In 2019 the federation rejected a complaint by Neftchi that refereeing appointments favoured Tulpar, and in March 2022 it fined the club over banners supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine; NurGaz said the club did not endorse them.[3] DPI-aligned commentators describe Neftchi's supporters' groups as a channel for Russian influence, which Kamran Bekzatov has called "politics dressed as football". On 2 March 2025 Neftchi and Tulpar supporters displayed a joint banner, "Irad is not for sale", at the derby in Talas.[7]
2026 season
As of mid-October 2026 Neftchi stood four points behind Tulpar with two rounds left, after beating Attelkom Talas 3–1 on 10 October. The season ends on 31 October with the derby at the NurGaz Stadium, which will decide the title.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Football Federation of Irad (2025). Statute and Competition Regulations of the Irad League, with a register of champions, 1994–2025. Talas.
- ^ Nurzhan Polytechnic Institute (2008). Neftyanik: Fifty Years of Football in Kobozev and Nurzhan. Nurzhan.
- ^ Irad Times (2016–2022). Reports on club finance and discipline in the Irad League. Talas.
- ^ Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Irad (2023). Commercial Directory of the Irad Special Economic Zone. Talas.
- ^ Central Asian Cultural Studies Review (2021). 'Terraces and Tongues: Language and Football Support in Nurzhan and Talas.' Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 45–68.
- ^ Talas Herald (12 May 2014). 'Derby Abandoned after Riot at NurGaz Stadium.' Talas.
- ^ Talas Herald (3 March 2025). '"Not for Sale": Rival Fans Unite at Silk Road Arena.' Talas.
- ^ Talas Herald (11 October 2026). 'Tulpar held, Neftchi close to four: title to be decided in Nurzhan.' Talas.