By Paul Nicholson
November 19 – The financial crisis that engulfed the Russia’s Football Union (RFU) and saw Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko return as federation president in September, eased slightly with the announcement of gas company Novatek coming on board as a main sponsor. No figure was announced for the deal which will go through until the end of 2018.
“It’s a major event for the RFU,” said Mutko. “The deal will help the national squad prepare for major tournaments in the best possible way. We will spend every penny effectively. And we’re set to make all our expenses transparent.”
Under Mutko’s predecessor Nikolai Tolstykh, RFU debts had reached two billion roubles ($30.1 million) and resulted in a the failure to pay the wages of the former national team manager Fabio Capello for six months. On his election Mutko pledged his first task would be to bring sponsors back to the national game.
“I hope that the rough times for the RFU will soon come to an end,” Mutko said. “The financial situation has been disastrous. We hope we can make the RFU budget balanced in just a year.”
Novatek is Russia’s second biggest gas company and fulfils about 18% of the country’s gas demands.
St Petersburg sets date
Meanwhile the date for first match at the St. Petersburg stadium will be held in September 2016. The stadium construction has been repeatedly delayed but now appears to progressing rapidly.
Chairman of the Construction Committee Mikhail Demidenko said that the stadium on Krestovsky Island is currently 79% ready.
The stadium construction in the western part of Krestovsky Island started in 2006 and was funded by the St. Petersburg budget. The total cost of the project will be 34.9 billion rubles for the 69,000 capacity venue.
The arena will be equipped with a retractable roof enabling matches to be played in winter in about +15 degrees temperatures. The pitch will be rolled in and out of the stadium enabling it to be used for other uses and also for ease of maintenance.
St Petersburg will host Confederations Cup matches in 2017. In 2018 it will host seven 2018 World Cup matches: four in the group stage, one quarter final, a semi-final and the play-off for third place.
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