QJ League Awards 2025: Best Midfielder, Shortlist

The final nominees for the individual award are Aliden Mussaipov (Kairat), Ruslan Rakhmetov (Irtysh), and Daniyal Nazarov (Astana).

Aliden Mussaipov played 18 matches, scoring four goals and providing one assist. His stats also include 717 accurate passes out of 880 (81%) and 142 duels won out of 238 (60%). This is his second season in the QJ League – a year earlier, Aliden became a double champion with the Almaty side, winning both the U18 and U17 tournaments.

Ruslan Rakhmetov recorded 11 goals and 3 assists in 18 matches, including a hat-trick and two assists in the opening-matchweek game against Aktobe. His statistics also feature 74 tackles and ball recoveries, 25 interceptions, 230 successful passes out of 346 (66%), and 173 duels won out of 405 (43%).

Daniyal Nazarov appeared in every one of the 22 matches this season. He completed 842 accurate passes out of 1,094 (77%), won 121 duels out of 229, and registered 216 tackles and recoveries, along with 106 interceptions.

The name of the award winner will be announced during the QJ League Awards Ceremony, which will take place on November 1.

For reference, in 2023, the Best Midfielder Award went to Olzhas Baibek (Kairat), while the following season’s honor was claimed by Roman Assylbayev (Shakhtyor).