By Mark Baber
January 28 – Vitaly Mutko, the Russian Sports Minister and Russian Football Union (RFU) President, has said a new $2.5-3.8 million sponsorship contract is about to be signed for the cash-strapped RFU, and that the union is now getting its finances in order.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mutko said: “We are about to sign a sponsorship contract with another partner. It can be a deal worth $200-300 million rubles.” ($2.5 – $3.8m at current exchange rates.)
“Everything is ready to sign an agreement,” Mutko added, “perhaps, we will be even able to sign it tomorrow. Everything goes well and it is only a matter of organising [the actual signing].”
Mutko also confirmed the much improved financial position of the Russian Football Union saying that: “For the first time ever, we [the RFU] have no debts to repay to all footballers playing for the national teams.”
“The debt was about 2.6 billion rubles ($33 million). Accounts payable are currently equal to 316.2 million rubles ($4 million).”
In early 2015, Mutko had to ask Alisher Usmanov to help pay sacked manager Fabio Capello’s wages but shortly after he took over as RFU president on September 2 he signed a major four-year sponsorship contract was signed with Russian metals giant Norilsk Nickel.
The RFU has also benefitted from the money received from UEFA for qualifying for Euro 2016 which, according to Mutko: “Helped us, considering the situation with the exchange rate. We paid a portion of payables.”
In his interview with TASS Mutko also confirmed the RFU would be completely abolishing the payments Russian football clubs needed to make for fielding foreign players from the start of next season.
After his election in September last year Mutko had said that it would take a year and a half to repay all of the RFU’s debts and it looks as if, thanks in part to the fall in the rouble but primarily due to his powerful position as both Sports Minister and Head of the RFU, he is well on track to achieve that target.
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