The most popular kind of sport in Kazakhstan - football. In Soviet times the Alma-ATA «Kairat» for a long time played in the highest League of the championship of the USSR. In 1988, Evgeny Yarovenko in the national team of the USSR became the Olympic champion. In 1994, the Federation of football of Kazakhstan was even accepted in the Asian zone of FIFA, but since 2001 Kazakhstan joined the European zone (UEFA)