By David Gold
January 20 – The Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, is attempting to save the Russian Premier League outfit Tom Tomsk from bankruptcy.
Tomsk almost went bust in 2009 due to huge debts and were saved when Putin encouraged Russian energy companies to help the club.
With the team bottom of the Russian Premier League and with mounting debts, Putin has indicated he would move once more to help the troubled club.
“I’m ready to give the order, or a request, I can’t force them, they’re public companies, but I can ask the companies in the region to invest in the club,” Putin told a meeting with soccer fan club representatives in St Petersburg.
“We need [the companies] to control the financial side and other things not directly associated with sporting activities, such as the financial material side of the functioning of the club.”
Tomsk have lost major sponsors including Gazprom, Rosneft, Transneft and Allianz in recent months, and their collapse would make them the third major Russian team, following Torpedo Moscow, FC Saturn and Sochi, to fold since 2009.
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