Shakhter Karagandy have won the Kazakhstan First League and will return to the Premier League after spending two seasons in the second tier.
In the final round of the season, Konstantin Yemelyanov’s side suffered a 3-2 home defeat to Kairat-Zhastar. Artem Litosh and Andrey Ulshin scored for the hosts, while Abylai Zhylkaidar, Abylai Toleukhan and Mustafa Shen were on target for the Almaty side.
The defeat did not affect Shakhter’s final position. The Karagandy club finished top of the table with 65 points. Kairat-Zhastar collected 63 points and finished second, but Kairat’s reserve team are not eligible to play in the Premier League. The second promotion place therefore went to third-placed Turan from Turkestan.
Shakhter forward Artem Litosh, 21, finished as the First League’s top scorer. He scored his 24th league goal of the season in the final round. The striker had previously received his first call-up to Kazakhstan’s extended squad for the upcoming Nations League matches.
Shakhter were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2024 season after finishing 13th and last. It was the Karagandy club’s first relegation from the top division since Kazakhstan gained independence.
In 2025, Shakhter finished fourth in the First League and failed to return to the top flight at the first attempt.
The Karagandy club have twice won the Kazakhstan championship, lifting the title in 2011 and 2012.
In 2013, Shakhter reached the Champions League play-off round. After beating Celtic 2-0 at home, they lost 3-0 in Glasgow. The club then competed in the Europa League group stage, becoming the first team from Kazakhstan to reach that stage of a European competition.
Winning the First League is Shakhter’s first trophy since the club moved into private ownership. In November 2025, it was acquired by a company within entrepreneur Timur Turlov’s Freedom Holding Corp.