For fans of Welsh sport, there is a huge amount riding on two fixtures today. Wales' football side play their penultimate World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein in Vaduz. Kicking off just 40 minutes later, Steve Tandy's rugby union side host Japan on more familiar territory at the Principality Stadium.
Some people are doing other provisions of this, but our trip is on to Almaty, which is meant to be a different beast to Astana, and then we're going on to Uzbekistan, we're going to Tashkent. We're hoping to see the final of the Central Asian Republic tournament that's going on at the moment, and then we're going to Bukara, Kiva, and Samaran.
Kazakhstan are a modest footballing nation and are not expected to qualify for the World Cup finals. They have been placed in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group J along with North Macedonia, Wales, Belgium and Liechtenstein. Ali Aliyev's side are fourth in UEFA Group J at the moment with three points from three matches, five points behind leaders North Macedonia and four points behind second-placed Wales.