"We have a very non-political international federation"

The Padel Federation of Russia was active among sports organizations at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), which concluded and signed several agreements. This new sport has been actively gaining popularity in the world and in our country in recent years. The relevant national federation is headed by Alexey Sorokin, former Director General of the organizing committee for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, former Director General of the RFU and a former member of the FIFA Council.

In an interview with Izvestia, he spoke about the development of padel tennis in Russia, and also commented on the ongoing suspension of Russian football teams from international competitions and assessed how the escalation between Israel and Iran could affect this.

— What do you associate with the growing popularity of padel in Russia?

— I would like to record this, of course, as an asset of our federation, as the fruits of our efforts. But it seems to me that this sport has a natural craving — it's some kind of unique combination of characteristics that allow it to go at an incredible pace all over the planet. Our country is no exception in this regard. The very nature of the game — a low entry threshold, a high degree of socialization, and the ability to adjust the pace —is a distinctive part of padel. And, probably, the payback of the infrastructure makes our sport attractive to investors. This gives an impetus to the development of infrastructure, without which it is quite difficult, if not impossible, to do anything in sports. Thanks to all these qualities, padel is developing, taking on more and more new fans — from other sports, and just new people who have just started to get involved in sports.

— Recently, a number of former and current Russian football players, as well as Valery Karpin, have been noticed playing padel. Did this give an additional boost to the popularity of your sport?

— A number of football players were simply pioneers of this sport in Russia, as they learned to play it in Spain when they played in local football clubs there. Then padel naturally developed, gaining popularity among tennis players, squash players, and people who are not familiar with sports in general. Padel becomes a truly massive sport — huge tournaments with the participation of hundreds of people instantly gather. And the only limitation is infrastructure — it's not enough. Padel is a sport where demand repeatedly outstrips supply. If we were not physically limited by the infrastructure, the number of students would be, if not hundreds, then dozens of times more.

"I gradually realized that I was ready to work at the club again"

Valery Karpin — about the choice in favor of Dynamo, matches with Nigeria and Belarus, and questions about labuba

— How many people want to study now and how many people do not have enough infrastructure?

— It is very difficult for us to count, because every day there are more and more padel courts. There are about 200 clubs in Russia now. Accordingly, each club has a solid 300-500 members. That is, by simple multiplication, if you take it at a minimum, then this is at least 50 thousand people.

— How many courts do you need?

— FIP (International Padel Federation) has figures on the availability of courts for the population of the countries. We are far from the first place there. At the same time, Sweden, a small country, has 6 thousand courts. When we reach this limit, we will be able to talk about providing our citizens with the appropriate infrastructure. We still have a long way to go in this direction. In general, if we take such large cities as Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, then there should be several clubs in each district of the city. Then there will be some basic security for the development of youth sports, junior training, and the future reserve. There should be more than one club in each neighborhood. And each club should have at least four to seven courts.

— Given the high demand for padel, can we say that it does not depend on any large cash injections from outside?

— This is definitely an attractive investment sport. There are a lot of potential investors in padel — we know this from the large number of appeals to our federation. That's why we are sure that enough clubs will appear in the near future. There is definitely no shortage of investors. At the same time, there is also a stimulating program of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation and regional sports ministries and committees. There is a program to subsidize the interest rate for the creation of infrastructure facilities — the state is actively involved in its construction.

— Has Padel already acquired a competitive structure that is understandable to a wide audience, which sports with a long history have?

— Such a structure has developed. There are competitions that we hold as a federation. There are competitions that are held under the auspices of the federation. The second category is, of course, more extensive, since we cannot cover the needs of the entire country on our own. We are very excited to see that more and more new regions are trying to hold competitions according to the rules of the federation, with verified regulations. Of course, our sport has childhood growth disorder — sometimes it develops a little spontaneously. But at the same time, the movement is positive, and we are optimistic about the future.

— How many regions are in your orbit?

— We have more than 60 subjects in which regional padel federations or FPR representative offices are open. Of these, 48 are accredited by the relevant regional ministries or committees on physical culture and sports. We are already fulfilling all the standards of the Ministry of Sports as a full-fledged federation.

— What is your relationship with the international federation? Are they very different from what happens in most other sports after February 2022?

— We have a very non-politicized international federation. She is very calm about the participation of our athletes, who are allowed to compete at any level under the auspices of FIP. Our athletes have corresponding positions in the ratings. Some girls are even in the top 100. It's more difficult for men because there's more competition. But there are no restrictions — our athletes participate absolutely calmly. And we are grateful to FIP for such an unpoliticized approach.

"The atmosphere in the national team was great"

Goalkeeper of the Russian national team Anton Mitryushkin — about the past matches with Nigeria and Belarus, Matvey Safonov and Valery Karpin

— Can the politicized approach from FIFA and UEFA regarding Russian football change after what Israel started in Iran on June 13?

— Personally, I don't see much connection between our relations with international football organizations and the events in the Middle East. These events are certainly very sad. We are all watching intently what is happening there. But to be honest, I don't see much influence on football.

— Do you think it is impossible to ban Israel here, or if FIFA and UEFA do not want to apply sanctions to it, to lift them against Russia?

— And how can the specifics of Israel's relationship with FIFA affect the specifics of our relationship? Each national federation has its own dialogue with FIFA and UEFA. We need to solve our problems with them. To continue to convince that everything that has happened to Russian football on the international stage in the last three years is unfair. The RFU is systematically engaged in this. But so far, UEFA has shown a certain degree of firmness in this matter.

— During our February interview, you spoke about the feeling that something positive could happen in football and sports this year in relation to Russia. Are you still optimistic?

— I'm an optimist and I'm not ruling anything out so far. I hope that universal justice will prevail. Until that moment came.

— Many believed that after the change of the US leadership, there could be positive changes in this direction. Have you felt them in recent months?

— Positive developments are when we will be allowed to play in the international arena. It's like electricity — there's a plus and a minus. Everything else — numerous discussions, consultations and negotiations — is still an effort. When we are allowed to compete, it will be a shift.