"It is a pleasure for us to host the Russian Super Cup again"

On July 12, the new season in Russian football starts with a match for the Russian Super Cup between the reigning national champion Krasnodar and the Russian Cup winner CSKA Moscow. This meeting will be held in Kazan, which this week was entrusted by the Russian Football Union (RFU) with the organization of this event again — the last time the capital of Tatarstan hosted the Super Cup in July 2023.

In an interview with Izvestia, the Minister of Sports of the Republic of Tatarstan, Vladimir Leonov, commented on Kazan's obtaining the right to host this match, assessed the results of regional teams in the past season in game sports, and also said that the capital of the republic could still host the European Aquatics Championships in 2028.

— How did Kazan manage to get the second Russian Super Cup in three years?

— This is the RFU's decision. And we are always open to holding such events. Apparently, we had a good Super Bowl the year before last. It is a pleasure for us to always host such events in the Republic of Tatarstan. Moreover, our republic is a sports region. We have amazing sports facilities and experience in organizing such matches and competitions. Besides, the Super Bowl will be held in less than a month — there is objectively little time to prepare. Perhaps the RFU has decided to hold a meeting in a verified location. We have already discussed work in this direction with representatives of the organization. I think they will launch an advertising campaign and ticket program by the end of the week. I am sure that together we will create a real sports festival. And we will please all the spectators who will be on the podium, and all the spectators who will watch the match on TV.

— Have you ever discussed with the RIHF the option of bringing the Russian national ice hockey team to Kazan or Nizhnekamsk? Should one or both of these cities be included in the program of the national team's regional tour, which will take place during the May holidays starting in 2022?

— We haven't discussed it yet. We have been in touch with the RIHF, but we have not touched on this topic, although Kazan and Nizhnekamsk are excellent hockey cities with excellent infrastructure. If there is such an initiative, we will definitely consider it.

— Do you want to suggest holding matches of the national teams of Russia and Belarus in the cities of Tatarstan?

— This is the first time I've heard about it. Recently, it was reported that the FHR wants to make a tour of NHL and KHL veterans to three cities: St. Petersburg, Moscow and Kazan. We are in dialogue about this. Previously, they want to hold this event in August, but so far all this is only being discussed in strokes. I think the FHR will announce this itself when the specifics become available.

— Does Kazan still have a chance to host the aquatics competitions that the city has received until 2022?

— This year, 2025, Kazan was supposed to host the World Aquatics Championships for the second time (the first one was held in 2015.— Izvestia). But for obvious reasons, it was postponed, and this year it will be held in Singapore instead of Kazan. But we still have a contract to host the European Aquatics Championships in 2028. It was supposed to take place in 2024, but it has been postponed to 2028. It's on the calendar of the European Aquatics Federation. There will be competitions in all sports except water polo, which has a separate continental championship in Europe. Therefore, they have not been canceled yet, but postponed. But there are no active dialogues about this. Nevertheless, there is time. And there are chances to hold it in Kazan in 2028.

— Has the 2025 World Cup finally left Kazan? Is it not on your calendar for other years?

— Yes, unfortunately, the issue is closed with him. If I'm not mistaken, it's scheduled by city until 2036. So it's not even relevant to talk about the World Cup in Kazan yet.

— Have you already incurred any expenses for preparing for the World Cup? If so, will you try to get FINA (the International Aquatics Federation) to compensate them?

— No, there were no expenses. Because the infrastructure as a whole was ready even after the 2015 World Cup. We wanted to build another facility by the 2025 World Cup, but it's still on hold. It's a little easier for the European Championship — with the existing infrastructure, we will hold it calmly. So there is no capital cost. The costs could only be operational.

— What kind of facility did you want to build?

— High diving center. We don't have any in our country. And in general, there is also such a problem in the world — there is no place for high divers to train round the clock, since they jump into the water from 27 m. We wanted to build such a facility next to our Aquatics Center in Kazan. They even drew a sketch of what it might look like. But it would not be a purely sports facility, but a complex with offices, shops, and hotels. But it's not relevant to talk about it right now.

— How would you assess the infrastructural legacy of last year's BRICS Games?

— Excellent legacy. We hold a huge number of competitions at the constructed facilities. We have hosted many Russian championships in Kazan this year. For example, the Russian Table Tennis Championship has already been held at the facility that was built for the BRICS Games. This summer we will host the Russian Athletics Championships at the renovated Central Stadium. We will soon hold the Russian Swimming Cup in the renovated Aquatics Palace. We constantly have competitions and training camps on the rowing channel, which we have repaired. So everything is working — it turned out to be a good upgrade thanks to the BRICS Games. The facilities have been updated — they have now become the most modern. Not only with modern renovation, but also with updated equipment

— Recently, many well-filled arenas with a capacity of 10-15 thousand spectators have appeared in the KHL. And in St. Petersburg, the SKA Arena gathers 23 thousand people each. Doesn't it feel like just under 9,000 at Kazan's Tatneft Arena is already insufficient capacity for AK Bars' home matches? Are there any changes in this area in the long term?

"Only if it's remote." We have indeed had working conversations on this topic with both our federation and the Ak Bars hockey club itself. Firstly, the facility itself has been built for a long time. Secondly, Ak Bars is very popular from the point of view of the fan community. And there's a lot of excitement at the playoff games. From this point of view, we want a new, more spacious arena. But today, building a large arena is a lot of money for these days. So for now... In some perspective, probably, yes. But now it is impossible to say about any solutions.

— Is it impossible to reconstruct Tatneft Arena itself?

— It's unrealistic. We need to build a new arena if we want to increase the capacity of hockey. But this is a matter of principle and finding investors. All this will cost a lot of money. So far, Tatneft Arena is the largest hockey facility in our republic.

— How would you rate the performances of your regional clubs in Russian gaming competitions in the past 2024/25 season?

— Everyone played well. Ak Bars probably had more hope in the KHL playoffs. Because this club always has a lot of ambitions. And he had a good regular season. It's a pity that something went wrong in the playoffs. I don't want to criticize the club, but as a fan, I would like to get through at least one more round.

Football club Rubin is a middling RPL player. But he's a very cocky middle-class guy. This is an unpleasant opponent for any title-winning team. And there is a task to move higher. The club has everything for this — a good coaching staff, a good core of players. The team sometimes plays very good matches and shows spectacular football. And, importantly, the audience began to return to the stadium. At some stage, we had a failure with the attendance of Rubin matches, but last season we made record attendance for a long time.

In basketball, it was a shame that UNICS did not make it to the finals of the VTB United League playoffs. But I took the bronze, and I think it's a good result now. Zenit Kazan is the champion in men's volleyball. We stumbled a little bit in the water polo final. But in general, Tatarstan proves the status of the country's sports capital. All the teams perform at their own level. Of course, you always want more, but overall the results are good. Nevertheless, the task is always to rise one step higher.