"Betting money does not serve as a trigger for the development of the industry"

The Russian Football Union (RFU) may introduce additional sanctions against clubs in the form of deductions of points for overdue payments for player transfers and payments to agents. This was stated after a recent meeting of the RFU Executive Committee by Alexander Dyukov. Denis Solovyov, Vice President of the union, Deputy Chairman of the Board of NOVATEK and chairman of the Moscow Region Football Federation, explained the logic of possible sanctions against the clubs to Izvestia.

"FIFA and UEFA will not go ahead of other federations"

— Do you consider the possible withdrawal of points from clubs for overdue debts to be an adequate punishment?

— Well, is it okay to make commitments that you can't fulfill? As a person who works in business, I can say that it's not normal. Either the club does not assume impossible financial obligations, or it must be prepared to be punished for this.

— Do you believe in the disbandment of our teams in the new year, 2026?

— I am sure that FIFA and UEFA will not go ahead of other major international federations like hockey and basketball. God forbid that I was wrong. But I don't believe it.

— Even after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that federations start admitting juniors, after Russians were allowed to compete internationally in the team sport of water polo for the first time since 2022 in November?

— I repeat, God forbid I make a mistake, but I think that until there is a geopolitical detente, there will be no major changes.

"Even for boys?" After all, back in 2023, UEFA seemed to have allowed our national teams under the age of 17 to compete, but they still do not play there. Do you think that at least in this regard there will be changes in the new year?

— The key word in your question is "sort of." I think there are two scenarios. The first is when the geopolitical situation is changing. The second one, in which the geopolitical situation does not change. If nothing changes, then I don't believe anything will happen before the World Cup.

"Marketing will be more aggressive"

— In the last six months, there have been rumors in some telegram channels that NOVATEK will reduce its cooperation with the RFU. How reliable are they?

— There is a valid contract. We're not going anywhere until it's over. As for the next contract, we will talk when the time is right. But we are not going to break the current agreement and we are fulfilling all our obligations. In 2026, when it expires, we will make a decision on how we will continue to work.

— What is the probability that the cooperation will continue in the same volumes as it is now?

— The volume of NOVATEK's contract with the RFU depends on a lot of things.

— Starting from January 1, 2026, a new law on taxation of bookmakers and sweepstakes will come into force in Russia, which will pay 60 times more to the country's budget than before. There was a lot of noise in the football environment last year because of this. Has the RFU marketing committee, which you head, analyzed how much the revenues of football clubs will decrease now?

— Everyone understands that these are the changes in the rules of the game that will lead to a certain rethinking of the value of money within the industry.

— How much will the clubs' revenues go down after this?

— To be honest, I've never looked at it that way. These are slightly different things. You ask the question, how will the new rules of the game affect what? The amount of money in football? They probably will. But for me, the presence of betting money or lack thereof is not a trigger for the development or underdevelopment of the industry. The industry must develop regardless of whether there is betting money in it or not. Yes, it's good when they are there, they invest, and this contributes to development. But let's assume that there won't be any. What then after that?

— Do you think that the life of the RFU, leagues and clubs will not be much complicated by this?

— This money really brought a lot of benefits for the development of football. But if you're asking me how their absence will affect marketing, then marketing will be more aggressive. We will search for money more aggressively and come up with more stories to attract partners.

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"The availability of private money depends on a combination of factors"

— You are the head of the Football Federation of the Moscow region. It is clear that it is not in your authority to control professional football in the region...

— Not in our country at all. Not even once in ours.

— But at the level of personal observations, do you have an understanding of why professional football in the Moscow region has recently completely degraded, which in the outgoing year 2025 symbolized the bankruptcy of Khimki, which, according to the sporting principle, should now be playing in the RPL?

— How does professional football in the Moscow region differ from professional football in many other regions? The fact that there is no budget money in professional clubs near Moscow. Based on this, certain problems arise. And the availability of private money in football... To do this, there must always be a combination of factors for people to spend their money on professional football.

— By private money, do you mean the personal funds of businessmen like Sergey Galitsky, the owner of Krasnodar, and Pavel Morozov, the owner of Akron? Or do you include Gazprom, for example?

— No, no, for me Gazprom is a state-owned company. I am referring specifically to 100% private investors. There are very few such people in the Moscow Region who would be willing and willing to finance professional clubs. Someone is trying to do something, but apparently there are no people who would be willing to finance in the amount that it was before.