Kazakhstan claim bronze at the IFCPF World Championship 2026

24 August 2026, 10:28

Kazakhstan CP Football team ended their IFCPF World Championship 2026 campaign in England with a historic bronze medal.

The team’s journey at the World Championship was a challenging one, marked by hard-fought encounters throughout the tournament. In their opening group-stage match, Kazakhstan faced tournament favourites the USA, going down 8-0. In the second round, our team faced Italy and suffered a 6-0 defeat.

A turning point came in the third match of the group stage, when Kazakhstan showed great character to defeat local club Loughborough 9-3. The convincing victory underlined the team’s attacking quality and secured their place in the next stage.

In the semi-finals, Kazakhstan once again faced a strong USA side. Despite a committed performance and a determined battle for every ball until the final whistle, the Kazakhstan team went down 7-0.

However, in the third-place play-off, Kazakhstan met Loughborough again. The national team controlled the match and secured a convincing 7-2 victory to claim the bronze medal at the World Championship.

Kazakhstan CP Football head coach Chingiz Temerkhanov shared his thoughts on the tournament:

“The fact that the Kazakhstan national team competed at the World Championship is significant in itself. In a relatively short period of time, we have made significant progress and reached the international stage. Our participation shows people with physical disabilities that football is open to them. They see our players and realise: ‘I can also earn a place in the Kazakhstan national team and one day play at the World Championship.’

We lost some key players before the tournament due to classification, but the team did not give up. The players adapted and gave 200 per cent on the pitch. I want to pay tribute to every player. We have seen the international level of CP Football first-hand and will bring this invaluable experience back to Kazakhstan to help develop the national team and the wider para-football system. I would like to thank the KFF leadership for their support and for giving us the opportunity to compete at tournaments of this level.”