Kazakhstan: Football minnow, futsal power
- When it comes to what former Soviet countries sometimes refer to as "big football" -- played with 11 players -- the Central Asian country ranks 120th in the world.
ALMATY: World Cup holders France will be clear favourites in a qualifying match for the 2022 tournament against Kazakhstan on Sunday, but if the two countries were meeting in the indoor version of the sport, Les Bleus would be underdogs.
Thanks to strong private investment and an influx of Brazilian expertise, Kazakhstan has emerged as a significant force in five-a-side futsal at both club and national level.
When it comes to what former Soviet countries sometimes refer to as "big football" -- played with 11 players -- the Central Asian country ranks 120th in the world.
The women's team has fared no better, recently rounding off a winless Euro 2022 qualifying campaign with a 12-0 defeat to France.
But in futsal, Kazakhstan is ranked seventh -- 16 places above France -- while the country's leading club Kairat won the sport's Champions League equivalent in 2013 and 2015.
Still, the road to respect in the sport has been a long one.
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