By David Gold
July 24 – Two new names have been thrown into the ring for the Russian Football Union (RFU) President role.
R-Sport reported that Evgeny Lovchev (pictured), a former defender for the Soviet Union, had been nominated by the All-Russian Association of Football.
Russian Olympic Committee executive director Nikolai Tolstykh, who used to play for Dynamo Moscow, has also been put forward.
They will be up against current Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, who previously served as President of the RFU between 2005 and 2009.
Mutko has been critical of some of the recent measures taken by the organisation, such the change to the domestic football calendar which brought it in line with Europe’s major leagues.
Others in the running for the vacancy are Sergei Pryadkin, Russia’s Premier League chief, and politician Igor Lebedev.
Sergei Fursenko vacated the role after the recent European Championships, when Russia made a shock first round exit.
The new President will be elected on September 3.
This week, Russia is set to finally appoint Fabio Capello, the former England manager, as their new coach.
The country is hoping to bring through a new generation in time for them to peak at the 2018 World Cup, which Russia hosts.
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