The World Nomad Games Return to Central Asia

For the first time, Kazakhstan will host the World Nomad Games. The fifth iteration of the games, to be held September 8-13, coincidentally occurs just a month after the Olympics in Paris and is an opportunity for Central Asian and Eurasian unity to take center stage.

During the current era of global tensions, such games allow populations with common backgrounds to gather and honor unity. Sports diplomacy will not solve Eurasia’s problems and challenges but will promote and celebrate integration and remind athletes and spectators of the importance of Central Asia’s heritage and rich culture.

While Central Asia’s history goes back millennia, the World Nomad Games are barely a decade old. Kyrgyzstan hosted the first three in 2014, 2016, and 2018. The fourth games were canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but were eventually held in Iznik, Turkey, in 2022; around 3,000 athletes participated. Inspired by the Olympic tradition of passing a torch from the current host city to the next host, Turkey handed a symbolic ceramic jug to Kazakh representatives; the upcoming games will take place in Astana.

The motto for the fifth World Nomad Games is Uly Dala Dubiri (Meeting in the Great Steppe). The logo is the World Nomad Games’ solar rider in dark red tones, while the text is in the Turkic script of the 8th to 10th centuries.

The games will reportedly have 21 sports, including horse races, wrestling, traditional games, martial arts competitions, archery, bird hunting, and folk games. Specific games include assyk atu, tug of war, kokpar (known in Kyrgyzstan as kok-boru and Afghanistan as buzkashi), horseback wrestling, tenge ilu, qazaq kuresi, mas-wrestling, a strongman competition, togyzkumalak (or toguz korgool), mangala, horseback archery, traditional archery, and kusbegilik, among others, according to The Astana Times. Around 2,500 athletes from over 85 countries will participate, and a total of 97 medals will be awarded.

Astana is utilizing this opportunity to promote regional culture, history, and traditions. There will be a theatrical performance titled “Astana is the capital of the Nomads,” a conference titled “Nomads: History, Knowledge, Lessons,” cultural events at the Ethno-Aul, and an aitys (or aitysh), the traditional musical competition of akyns (folk poets and singers). Six venues across the capital, including the Astana Arena Stadium, with a maximum capacity of 30,000, and the Kazanat Hippodrome will host the games.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has stated that the games are important “for the expansion of cultural and humanitarian ties between fraternal peoples – heirs of the nomadic civilization of the Great Steppe.” Moreover, the Kazakh government has noted that the games are a “vital cultural event for Kazakhstan and the broader Central Asian region, serving as a platform to celebrate and preserve the traditional practices, sports, and way of life of nomadic peoples.” By hosting these games, Kazakhstan aims to promote cultural identity and strengthen international bonds.

Writing about Kyrgyzstan’s 2016 World Nomad Games, The Diplomat’s Catherine Putz explained how some politicization and extreme nationalistic sentiments were present despite the games’ goal of promoting integration. At the time, there were incidents between participants from India and Pakistan, a lack of clarity regarding Uzbekistan's participation, and arguments over horses between Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan.

However, there have also been uplifting moments of cooperation in more recent sporting events. During the Olympics in Paris, Kyrgyz boxer Munarbek Seyitbek uulu participated, but his coach was unable to travel to the French capital. To support the Olympian, a coach from Uzbekistan, Akmal Khasanov, became Seyitbek uulu’s second; the Kyrgyz government awarded Kashanov a medal for his “magnanimous role.” As for the Kyrgyz boxer, Seyitbek Uulu reached the Men’s Featherweight finals, a first for the country, and fought Uzbek boxer Abdumalik Khalokov. Khalokov eventually won the gold, but we got to see a Central Asian boxing final in Paris thanks to mutual regional support.

Unity and integration in Central Asia have been the subject of a plethora of analyses, as there are several attempts at Central Asian and Eurasian integration via diplomatic, economic/trade, or defense/security objectives, with overlapping memberships. Some current multinational regional efforts include the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), and trade blocs like the Middle Corridor and the Southern Corridor. However, people-to-people contacts and interactions are mandatory for any integration project to be effective long-term.

The World Nomad Games is an example of sports diplomacy, which can promote integration and people-to-people relations among nations with common historical backgrounds. Dr. Stuart Murray, co-founder of the Sports Diplomacy Alliance, noted, “sports and diplomacy are remarkably similar. They are both ancient civic devices for overcoming estrangement between separate groups.” Moreover, “sports diplomacy is much more than soft power. It is the strategic use of sports to bring people, nations, and institutions closer together via a shared love of physical pursuits,” argued Murray in a recent interview with the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs.

Sports diplomacy can boost the host city’s image as it “functions as a mechanism for soft power, allowing nations to exhibit cultural values and prowess on a global stage, thereby enhancing their global influence.” Astana will undoubtedly get a boost in tourism and image by hosting the games.

After six years, the World Nomad Games are returning to Central Asia. However, the fifth World Nomad Games in Astana occur at a time drastically different than the third games in Kyrgyzstan, given the ramifications of the war in Ukraine, the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, and a spate of violent border clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. At the same time, initiatives like the Middle Corridor have increased regional economic and transportation integration and pursuing deeper cooperation within the region remains a top priority.

People-to-people relations and friendships can strengthen regional connectivity projects, and Kazakhstan has the opportunity to use sports diplomacy to promote Central Asian unity at the people level. The World Nomad Games remind Central Asia (and the world) of the region’s strong history, identity, culture, and shared heritage that transcends 21st-century political borders.