The appearance of rumors about a possible change in the format of the Russian championship has caused a serious resonance in the football community.
Some responded positively to the idea of reducing the number of RPL participants, while others greeted it with disapproval.
Representatives of a number of clubs expressed the opinion that the initiative would negatively affect the development of sports in the regions and suggested that in this case the championship would resemble a competition between representatives of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Rumors about a possible reformatting of the Premier League became public the day before.
The media reported that the leadership of the RFU is considering the possibility of reforming the league according to the "12 + 12" scheme.
According to the project, 24 teams will take part in the Russian championship, divided into two divisions - conditionally RPL-1 and RPL-2.
The first will have the best teams in the championship, while the second will have four outsiders and eight best representatives of the National Football League (FNL).
As for the format of the championship in RPL-1, there are two possible options at once.
In the first case, a regular championship of 22 rounds is envisaged, after which the participants will be divided into two groups of six teams in accordance with the position in the standings and will play ten more rounds.
The first sextet will fight for gold and places in European competitions, the second - for maintaining a registration in the Premier League.
Thus, the total number of rounds will increase by only two (32 instead of 30), but the “number of highly competitive matches” will noticeably increase.
According to the second option, the first stage will also be held in the regular season format, followed by the playoffs.
The top eight will continue the fight for medals, while the outsiders, along with four teams from RPL-2, will fight to maintain their registration in the top division.
Thus, the number of playing days will be reduced by three, which will allow organizing the championship in weather conditions suitable for football.
And blow-to-mouth matches will not only raise the level of competition, but can also contribute to an increase in audience interest.
At the moment, the RFU and RPL have not officially commented on the information that appeared in the media about possible reforms.
Nevertheless, the president of the league, Sergei Pryadkin, confirmed that work in this direction is underway.
“The league is constantly aiming to enhance the sporting and commercial appeal of the competition, and a change in format has the potential to contribute to this.
But concrete decisions to change the format of the major league require a deep, integrated approach and comprehensive analysis.
The league has previously considered several scenarios, including the one currently being discussed in the media, 12 + 12.
This is a possible, but far from the only option, "RIA Novosti quoted Pryadkin as saying.
It is noteworthy that it was the head of the RPL who gave the reason for discussing the possible reduction of the participants in the top division of the Russian championship to 12 teams.
In December, Pryadkin admitted that he was in favor of increasing the number of meetings between the strongest teams, and spoke about the scheme for transforming the championship.
“I am a supporter of increasing the number of top matches in category A-A (matches between the top five teams following the results of the previous season. -
RT
).
That is, the scheme in which the clubs are divided into groups of 12. I have already stated at one time that it is necessary to reduce.
As we studied earlier at Lenin University, just the opposite: one step back, two steps forward.
I said this, and they immediately began to criticize me: we have a large country and so on ... If you cut down, four of the current 16 clubs will have to be removed.
What do you think, if you tell some governor that you will not play in the Premier League, but will be in RPL-2, what will be the reaction? "
- said Pryadkin Sports.ru.
The format with the division of the league into RPL-1 and RPL-2 was not to everyone's liking.
Representatives of the leaders of the Russian championship, as expected, came out in support of the reforms of the competition and said that this would have a positive effect on both the sports and financial components.
“Yes, we support the approach of increasing key matches in the championship.
We will discuss this with other clubs.
It's too early to talk about it yet.
But the fact that the RPL and the RFU support this case is obvious.
We will work, "Zenit CEO Alexander Medvedev told Sport-Express.
A similar opinion was expressed by the owner of the Moscow "Spartak" Leonid Fedun.
This is not surprising, because earlier he actively advocated the reduction of the Premier League.
In 2018, the functionary published an article on possible reforms in Russian football, in which he spoke, in particular, about the need to introduce strict requirements for licensing clubs, and also named the optimal number of participants in the competition.
In his opinion, from 12 to 16 teams should compete in the top division of the country.
This time Fedun focused not on the financial, but on the sports aspect, citing the failures of domestic clubs in European competitions as an argument for reform.
In the last two seasons, Russian teams performed extremely unsuccessfully in the Champions League and the Europa League, only twice having managed to take a place above the fourth in the group.
Both times Krasnodar succeeded.
“As the last European Cup campaign of Russian clubs has shown, the RPL needs reform.
It is necessary to increase the number of top matches from a sports point of view.
This will contribute to the growth of competition and increase the audience's interest in our championship ... You need to be careful when choosing a format.
It is necessary to discuss several options ”, - quotes Fedun Sport24.
But if the leaders of the top clubs liked the new RPL project, the representatives of the less status teams were skeptical about such an idea.
And this is logical, because in this case it will become even more difficult for them to break into the top division of the country.
And this entails a loss of interest both from potential sponsors and heads of regions and regions, at the expense of which the teams are often financed.
“I don't yet understand where this wave came from at all.
Who drives her ... But if this is really so, then this is some kind of horror.
We're going to kill all regional football!
I'm not kidding - let's kill!
Moscow alone will play with each other.
So what?
"Spartak", CSKA will never come to the regions?
Well, how's that ?!
Why are we reinventing the wheel?
What are the next incomprehensible reforms for? "
- said the president of "Ural" Grigory Ivanov.
A similar opinion was expressed by the chairman of the board of directors of "Ufa" Rostislav Murzagulov.
According to him, the reduction in the number of RPL participants will lead to the fact that teams from Moscow and St. Petersburg will find themselves in the Major League, which will have an extremely negative impact on the development of football in the regions.
“I propose to go further: let's reduce the championship to two teams.
Let Zenit and Spartak play a super series of 20 matches every year.
Fans of Moscow and St. Petersburg will be very pleased ... Our league should not be reduced, but increased.
If we increase to 18 teams, then the game will be more spectacular.
People will not be afraid to fall in there, they will play with the fans in mind.
I believe that the 12-club format will be fatal for our football.
We will simply kill football in the regions.
Probably, it will be profitable for someone commercially.
But it is also impossible to live by commerce alone ", - quotes the words of Murzagulov" Championship ".
Rustem Saimanov, a newly minted member of the RFU executive committee and general director of Rubin, also did not support a possible change in the number of clubs in the RPL.
He admitted that at one time he advocated this reform, but reconsidered his position.
“We talked about it at one time.
Maybe at that time it was relevant.
Now it seems to me not.
I'm against it.
What does it give us?
What are the benefits?
What if I make a proposal to make four teams?
I have to explain what it gives ... The opinion must be reasoned and convincing.
Convince all 16 participants that the decision is correct, ”said Saimanov.
It is noteworthy that the Tambov also opposed the new RPL project.
It is no secret that the team has problems with the construction of the stadium, which is why for the second season in a row it is forced to play matches either in Saransk or in Nizhny Novgorod.
At the same time, at the end of last year, the position of the club became completely deplorable, and rumors are still circulating in the media that it may withdraw from the championship.
Nevertheless, sports director Pavel Khudyakov not only criticized the idea of reduction, but also called for the league to expand.
“The format can be changed, playing three or four laps, but it will be much more difficult for the teams below to get to the top.
We have a huge country, why not make 18 - 20 teams and play more matches?
If for intensity and competitive matches, then it is also unclear.
There are more than 20 teams in the Premier League, Italy, Spain - and why?
There are strong, medium and weak, because the number of clubs is not being reduced, ”Khudyakov said.
It is noteworthy that Andrei Arshavin, director of the Zenit youth football development department, also spoke out against the changes.
He stated that he did not support the position of the blue-white-blue on this issue and called on the RFU leadership to pay attention to other aspects.
“There should be 16-18 teams, for this we need to develop football in the regions.
Maybe it’s worth considering a playoff system.
When we had a one and a half championship and played in the eight, I just caught it, it was interesting for spectators and players.
Then it was 1.5 years - and there was enough time for these games.
I don't know if everything can fit in one season.
In general, I am in favor of the scheme in the "spring - autumn" championship.
It will be much easier that way, "Match TV quotes Arshavin.