Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan Attends the Opening Ceremony of the International “Games of the Future – 2026” Tournament

July 29, 2026 – Astana. The capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan hosted the opening of the international multisport tournament “Games of the Future – 2026” (GOTF 2026), bringing together leading teams from more than fifty countries. Participants will compete in eight disciplines, ranging from Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 to phygital football and phygital basketball.

The Games of the Future is an international tournament combining traditional sports, esports, and phygital disciplines. Among its participants are some of the world’s strongest teams and athletes, competing in Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, PUBG Mobile, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, phygital football, phygital basketball, phygital shooter, and phygital dance (Just Dance).

The opening ceremony of the international multisport tournament featured an address by President Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Honorary guests at the event, held at Barys Arena, included President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, and other official dignitaries.

A video message from President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of the Russian Federation was also shown during the opening ceremony.

Among the honorary guests were Dmitry Nikolayevich Chernyshenko, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, and Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan.

Also attending the event were Alexey Borodavkin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Kazakhstan; Mikhail Degtyarev, Minister of Sport and President of the Russian Olympic Committee; and Umar Kremlev, President of the International Boxing Association.

For the first time, Astana is serving as the host city for this international tournament, which brings together esports, traditional sports, and cutting-edge technologies. This year’s competition features more than 800 athletes from 34 countries. Events are being held in eight disciplines: phygital football, phygital basketball, phygital martial arts, phygital shooter, phygital dance, Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and PUBG: Battlegrounds.