Texas Kyrgyz Foundation Tests Broader Kyrgyzstan Identity Through Sports
What began in Houston now reaches farther, as families connect across cities, cultures and generations.
Summary: What began as a local Houston gathering became a statewide experiment in how Kyrgyzstani community takes shape through sport.
On Sunday, January 15, 2026, Texas Kyrgyz Foundation brought together communities from across Texas at the Turkish Cultural Center in Houston for its first Friendship and Sports Tournament, using a day of sports and gathering to test a broader understanding of what it means to be from Kyrgyzstan.
While the foundation has largely focused its events on Houston’s local ethnic Kyrgyz community, the sports gathering marked a shift in scope. On volleyball courts, a football field, and at chess and table tennis tables, attendees from different backgrounds—including Turkish, Kazakh, Tatar, Uzbek, and Kyrgyz communities—came together in what became a milestone for the two-year-old organization.
More than 150 people attended the event. Families and friends cheered as athletes competed across soccer, men’s and women’s volleyball, chess, and table tennis—activities that emphasized sportsmanship and connection as much as competition.
“There are a lot of people from other cities, even from other nationalities,” Akkabakov said. “I am hoping to make some new friends.” —Ulukbek Akkabakov, student based in Houston, said as he attended the Friendship and Sports Tournament this past Sunday in Houston, hosted by Texas Kyrgyz Foundation, a Houston-based nonprofit.
Ulukbek Akkabakov, a Houston-based 19-year-old student from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, arrived to support friends and meet new people. “There are a lot of people from other cities, even from other nationalities,” Akkabakov said. “I am hoping to make some new friends.”
For participants travelling from Dallas and Austin, the event offered a unique insight into community building beyond Houston. Nurzhan Raimzhan drove more than six hours in heavy thunderstorms from Dallas to support her husband, who competed in the games. Born in Osh, Raimzhan has lived in the US for more than 10 years and said it was important for her family to experience a sense of shared community. “There’s a bigger community here [in Houston], and we are very local,” she said. “I wanted to bring my kids to see other Kyrgyz people and learn our culture so they can speak our language with other kids too.”
Dallas-area friends Maral Murzakmoatova, left, and Nurzhan Raimzhan, right, at the Friendship and Sports Tournament. Maral competed in chess and table tennis, and although she didn’t place, she sees value in what the sports event has done. “The first thing is coming together,” she said. The goal is for the community to grow, especially for children and their future.”
Maral Murzakmatova, also from Dallas, competed in both chess and table tennis and came to show her support for the growing Kyrgyzstani communities in Texas. When she first moved to the state in 2016, she recalled, there were only two families from Kyrgyzstan in Dallas. Today, she estimates the number has grown to more than 100. “The first thing is coming together,” she said. The goal is for the community to grow, especially for children and their future.”
That vision, organizers said, guided Sunday’s gathering. According to board member Sadirbek Saliev, “We’re bringing people from all across Texas together—like one big family.
Click here for US Kazakh Communities’ Volleyball Tournament.