Kyrgyzstan has launched the construction of a 51,000-seat stadium that will be the largest sports venue in Central Asia.

Built to Fifa standards, the stadium, boasting a sweeping, circular design reminiscent of a traditional Kyrgyz yurt—a round tent dwelling used by nomads—will arise in the village of Orok, on the outskirts of the capital Bishkek.

The Fifa-standard stadium will boast 51,000 seats for spectators (Credit: Artist's impression distributed by Kyrgyz presidency).

The venue will be the centrepiece of a multi-use sports facility that will also include a shopping mall and other retail spaces covering 35,000 square metres. The stadium floor space will be 85,000 square metres.

The project price tag has not been disclosed, though local media have written of an estimated cost of $60mn. Turkish and British companies are among key subcontractors hired to deliver the project.

Grandiose infrastructure projects are part of the signature-style of Kyrgyzstan’s populist-nationalist Japarov administration, which is also committed to building mega ski resort, railway and hydropower projects. However, the country’s construction boom is one factor in surging economic growth that officials are worried could lead to Kyrgyzstan’s economy overheating.

The country's government hopes the stadium will help place Kyrgyz football firmly on the big stage (Credit: Artist's impression distributed by Kyrgyz presidency).

The country’s “football-playing president” Sadyr Japarov ordered more investment in, and prioritisation of, Kyrgyz football after the national team last year failed to qualify for the playoffs at the AFC Asian Cup. Kamchybek Tashiyev, head of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee of National Security (UKMK), was elected president of the Kyrgyz Football Union (KFU), and put in charge of plans to raise the standard of the country’s football. He is overseeing the stadium building.

In May 2023, Japarov was joined by Fifa president Gianni Infantino in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new premises of the KFU in Bishkek. 

In August 2023, the authorities announced that work was completed on the construction of a Barcelona F.C. franchise soccer academy in the southern city of Jalal-Abad.