Tips for the union: why there is no alternative to Dyukov in the RFU

The upcoming February 2 extraordinary conference of the Russian Football Union (RFU) in Moscow will elect the leadership of the organization for the next four years - the president and the executive committee. The current head of the RFU, Alexander Dyukov, is the only candidate for the post, and the extension of his powers will not take place only if he himself changes his mind about re-election.

According to experts, the secret of the 57-year-old manager's popularity in the eyes of the Russian soccer community lies in his ability to raise funds for the development of soccer (the RFU's annual budget has reached 17 billion rubles), and even the recent U.S. sanctions will not prevent him from solving key tasks in this post, including negotiations with FIFA and UEFA on the return of our teams to international competitions.

Achievements

Alexander Dyukov will be elected for the third time as RFU president on a non-alternative basis. He took charge of the organization in February 2019, running for the post after the early resignation of Vitaly Mutko. In February 2021, Alexander Valerievich has already been elected for a full four-year term - again without competitors.

Even on the eve of his first election, Dyukov's key virtue was noted as his many years of experience in executive positions - primarily as chairman of the board of Gazpromneft, which he has headed since 2008. It was believed that his connections in big business would help to attract funds to soccer, which were almost never enough to maintain the RFU apparatus, finance national teams, as well as regional federations and various development programs.

In addition, Dyukov had a lot of soccer experience behind him. From March 2008 to May 2017, he served as president of Zenit FC (St. Petersburg), and after leaving that post, he headed the club's board of directors until he was elected RFU president. In addition, since April 2014, Dyukov has been a member of the RFU executive committee.

- The RFU budget under Dyukov reached 17 billion rubles, so there is no competition in the next presidential election for objective reasons," Vyacheslav Koloskov, RFU honorary president and former head of the organization, shared his opinion with Izvestia. - There are no other people today who would attract such funds. That's why no one else has put forward their candidacy. It is logical that Dyukov controls and implements all those programs under which these funds are raised. A few years ago, a strategy for the development of soccer until 2030 was developed and approved. Before that, similar documents with long-term development planning were also adopted. But, perhaps, for the first time, each direction of the strategy is fully secured financially. And it was Dyukov who achieved this through his influence and negotiating talents, which allowed him to agree with many major partners and sponsors on attracting serious sources of funding for the RFU.

According to Koloskov, under the current RFU leadership, a lot of the funds raised are spent on fundamental areas that need constant funding, but for which there was no money before.

- Dyukov managed to provide serious funding for the development of grassroots soccer, youth soccer, children's sports schools, - continued Koloskov. - In recent years, the RFU has made significant progress in terms of introducing soccer lessons in the programs of secondary schools, secondary and higher educational institutions. I would like to speak separately about the creation of youth soccer leagues (UFL) and holding competitions in them at three ages, which should allow 15-17-year-old boys to have more practice in the transition to adult soccer, a lot of work is being done in the development of women's soccer - now the RFU began to organize a full-fledged championship of Russia among women, all leading clubs in the RPL have women's teams.

A lot of attention is paid to helping regions and veteran soccer.

- Much is being done to develop soccer in the regions, - said Koloskov. - Every year 85 regional soccer federations and 10 interregional public associations receive under certain programs gratuitous financial assistance in large amounts for the development of soccer in their territories. And assistance to veteran soccer under the current leadership of the RFU - it's a miracle of some kind! No other federation is doing so much in terms of caring for veterans - more than 60 people receive monthly stipends, year-round competitions are held by the RFU Veterans Football Committee and the Veterans Union headed by Alexander Mirzoyan.

Sanctions and tasks

The period of Dyukov's rule saw the most difficult stages in the life of domestic soccer - the coronavirus pandemic in 2020-2021 and the suspension of teams from international competitions after February 24, 2022.

The RFU has managed to avoid a decrease in funding for Russian soccer, as well as preserve the institution of national, youth, youth and women's teams. The Union finds opponents for friendly matches in isolation. Moreover, thanks to various marketing activities, matches of the national team continued to show high attendance even in the case of frankly weak opponents like Brunei and Cuba.

The RFU managed to maintain relations with FIFA and UEFA, including Dyukov's membership in the executive committee of the European organization.

In January, Dyukov was placed under personal sanctions by the United States. Earlier, back in the spring of 2022, he was added to its sanctions list by the UK, Australia and New Zealand. However, according to Koloskov, this should not complicate negotiations at the international level.

- "We should take into account that the sanctions were applied to him because of his activities at the head of Gazpromneft, not the RFU," said Vyacheslav Koloskov. - So it will not affect the effectiveness of negotiations on the return of our teams to international competitions. I know many members of the FIFA and UEFA executive committee, heads of foreign federations - they all respect Alexander Valeryevich. He has good relations with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin. It is no coincidence that he retained his post in the UEFA executive committee. So he will continue to work in the direction of removing sanctions from our teams. There may be difficulties with his trips abroad, to various congresses and executive committees, but these are not the problems that prevent him from interacting with his colleagues with modern means of communication.

- The key task for the next four years for the RFU president and executive committee is to improve the quality of reserve training, - summarized Koloskov. - We have a lot of academies at clubs, a lot of money is invested in financing schools in the regions, coaches' salaries are increased, but there are not enough talented footballers. Although a lot is being done for this. In particular, the creation of the UFL set the task to facilitate and accelerate the transition of players from youth soccer to adult soccer, but so far something in this regard fails. And it is necessary to think what to correct in this direction.

According to the charter of the RFU, the president of the organization can hold office for no more than three four-year terms. Thus, in February 2029, Dyukov will have the last opportunity to be elected for a new term.