Freedom QJ League U17 & U16: Season Summary

Freedom QJ League U17

As a reminder, the best team across all three age divisions — as well as the girls’ tournament — was Kairat Almaty.

However, it was in the U17 competition that a team managed to hand the “yellow-blacks” their only defeat — that team was Ordabasy. The hero of the Matchweek VII game in Shymkent, which ended 3:2, was Abylaikhan Kenzhadoyev, who scored a brace.

By the end of the season, the Shymkent side earned silver medals, finishing just five points behind the champions with 56 points.

Aside from the draw with Caspiy (0:0, Matchweek II) and the loss to Ordabasy, Kairat won all their remaining matches in the tournament.

The bronze medals went to Shakhtyor Karaganda, who collected 43 points. Zhas Kyran finished fourth with 38 points. The top three places were decided even before the final matchday.

The tournament’s top scorer was Roman Chernomorets, a 14-year-old striker from Kairat, who recorded 21 goals and 6 assists in 20 matches.

The player with the most assists was Rassul Akimov from Shakhtyor — 13 assists in 19 matches, along with 7 goals.

Freedom QJ League U16

The Kairat team of players born in 2010 confidently won their tournament with 56 points. The “yellow-blacks” went unbeaten in the U16 competition, drawing five times — against Caspiy, Astana, Kaisar, Ordabasy, and Zhas Kyran.

The silver medals went to Aktobe, who earned 44 points. The “red-whites” secured the runner-up position thanks to a slip-up by Ordabasy, who drew with Shakhtyor in the final matchweek and finished third.

It’s worth noting that Astana was also in contention for a top-three finish until the very end. The decisive moment came in the penultimate matchweek, when the capital side lost to Ordabasy. Even though they later defeated Zhas Kyran, that wasn’t enough to earn them medals. Astana’s top scorer remained Anuar Tolendi, who transferred to the KFF Academy mid-season.

The Golden Boot of the U16 tournament went to Bekassyl Kanat from Ordabasy, who scored 14 goals in 22 matches. One goal behind were Alizhan Zaru (Kairat) and Timur Kazantsev (Irtysh).

The best playmaker title went to Temirlan Abzhapar from Kairat, who delivered 17 assists in 19 matches, a record margin.

For many of the players mentioned above, their journey in the Freedom QJ League is just beginning — will they be able to surpass their achievements in the upcoming seasons? Only time will tell.