Division into groups, an increase in the number of matches and an increase in income: what is known about the possible reform of the RPL

Revolutionary reform

On Tuesday, July 13, the RB-Sport portal reported about the upcoming serious reform of the Russian football leagues.

According to the information released to the public, the RFU has already sent the corresponding project to the clubs, which turned out to be at the disposal of the publication.

The prerequisites are the fall of Russia in the rating of UEFA coefficients, a decrease in representation in European competitions and the "low intensity" of most matches.

According to the document, the RPL are waiting for truly revolutionary changes.

Firstly, the league in the first part of the championship may switch to the so-called Swiss system (according to which, starting from the 2024/25 season, the Champions League will be held).

16 teams will be divided into four equal groups.

Inside them, the team will play two matches with each opponent, which will increase the number of principled meetings.

At the same time, the total number of games will be reduced from 30 to 24. Based on the results of this stage, an intermediate standings are drawn up.

In the spring, the clubs will be divided into two groups: the first six and the remaining ten, and the points scored in the first stage are divided in half.

Thus, the organizers intend to increase the density in the table.

Ten rounds will be played in the top 6 according to the usual round robin system, and in the top ten - nine.

At the same time, there will be practically no so-called "swamp" in this group, since the last two teams will fly directly to the FNL, the 13th and 14th will play in play-offs for the right to remain in the elite, and the seventh and eighth will determine the strongest among themselves , who, in a confrontation with the fourth RPL team, will fight for a ticket to the Conference League.

• One of the options for the future RPL format

• © https://www.competitionproject2021.com

The pluses are the overall increase in the number of matches (34 for each team), the holding of more meetings between top rivals (+26) and getting rid of the "passing" games.

It is also assumed that the reform will help increase the average attendance at games by 15% (from 15,300 to 17,600 spectators), and clubs will significantly increase their income (grants - by 33%, middle peasants - by 25%, outsiders - by 8%).

In total, from 80 to 102 billion rubles.

Other leagues await major changes.

For example, the FNL can be divided into two zones, ten teams each according to a sports principle.

Moreover, an increase in the class will take place in the spring, and a decrease in the fall.

This is because the lower leagues may be shifted back to a spring-fall system.

Later, the RFU confirmed that they were really preparing a large-scale reform, and for this in April they signed a contract with the Dutch company Hypercube.

“In an economic sense, our football is stagnating: the total budgets of the RPL, FNL and PFL clubs have been at the same level for many years in a row.

Football does not attract new waves of interest and new money.

In a sporting sense, the situation is even more alarming.

With the current trend of clubs' performances, Russia will drop out of the top ten UEFA coefficients by 2023, and by 2024 it will drop to 21st place, ”the federation's official website says.

They also reported that, as part of a study of the impact of the limit on legionnaires, Hypercube came to the conclusion: “Russian clubs overpay both foreigners and Russian footballers ... The recommendation is to remove quantitative restrictions, increase competition for a place in the squad and at the same time add material incentives for development of young players ".

At the same time, the RFU stressed that while they are only considering different options: to leave everything as it is, expand the RPL to 18 teams with additional meetings, enter playoffs, or choose the format that was discussed in the media.

“At this stage, we do not have any solutions, we just study the work done and assess whether we can improve the results.

We are open to any constructive discussions and reforms ... The worst thing that can be done in our situation is to fold our hands and decide that nothing needs to be done.

It is impossible to achieve success in complacency and inaction, ”the RFU stressed.

Ambiguous reaction

The emergence of the project caused a rather ambiguous reaction.

The reform was not approved by everyone.

The RPL press service asked to give time to the clubs to familiarize themselves with the RFU proposals.

“There are different views on the development of the league, including different reform projects aimed at improving the sports and marketing components.

When choosing a specific scenario, a comprehensive and complex analysis should be applied.

Before accepting this or that project, it is necessary that we ... study all the pros and cons, ”the RPL noted.

A number of clubs have already confirmed receipt of the letter, for example, in "Sochi".

Zenit promised to study the document as soon as it goes to the club.

“It is obvious to everyone that Russian football needs high-quality reforms, we understand that this will be a common decision of all participants in the process - both the RFU and the clubs,” the press service of the reigning champions of Russia said in a statement.

But in "Rostov" and "Ural" they openly spoke out against the innovation.

According to the President of the Southerners Artashes Harutyunyants, they "can lead to a significant decrease in interest in the championship in the regions."

The head of Yekaterinburg residents Grigory Ivanov also agreed with him, who recalled that all the leading leagues of the world play according to the usual two-round system.

“I am for a“ smooth ”, even championship ... And no reforms need to be invented.

Two circles - each with each.

As in all major leagues in the world.

I am for it.

There is no need to invent any playoffs.

This is not for football, ”the Sport24 functionary quotes.

According to Sport-Express, most RPL clubs really do not support the changes, and the project will get a chance to get approval at the RFU executive committee only if the federation makes a decision without taking their opinion into account.

European experience

In general, the attempts of the RFU to reform the RPL are quite in the spirit of modern European trends.

More and more leagues are moving from the usual championship to some hybrid options.

So, in the Netherlands last season, first a “smooth” championship of 34 rounds was played, and then an additional playoff was held for the last ticket to the Europa League.

Even more unusual is the system in Belgium, where the first four teams get into the so-called "play-off champions" and determine the title holder and medalists.

And the teams that took places from the fifth to the eighth - in the playoffs for the right to participate in the LE.

Austria has rules that are very similar to those proposed by the RFU.

12 participants conduct a total of 22 rounds, and then are divided into the first and second sixes and thus decide the fate of medals, tickets to European cups and the sub-elite division.

Moreover, teams from the lowest six also have the opportunity to get into the LE.

A very curious example is Ukraine, which in 2016 reduced the number of teams in the Premier League from 14 to 12 and carried out an Austrian reform (22 matches in the first stage, divided by two sixes).

But a few years later, the management of local football returned to the previous system of drawing.

RPL history has also had one season with a split into two groups after the regular season.

This happened in the 2011/12 transitional draw, which lasted for a year and a half, so that the league could reorganize to the "autumn-spring" system.

In the spring of 2012, the first eight teams fought for medals and tickets to European cups, and the second - to maintain their registration in the elite.

But if the confrontation of the giants aroused great interest among the fans, then the matches of the outsiders did not attract too much attention.

"RFU is trying to shake up Russian football"

To understand whether the reform could allow Russian football to take a quantum leap forward, RT spoke to a number of experts. All of them agreed that the proposed changes could raise the level and visibility of the championship. And according to the former sports director of "Dynamo" Roman Oreshchuk, they will also give the clubs the opportunity to start earning. He believes that the indicated figure of 33% income growth for the grandees is quite real.

“Let's count.

The meeting between Spartak and CSKA at the Otkrytie Arena can be attended by 45 thousand people.

If you sell each ticket for a thousand rubles, you get 45 million rubles just for one game.

If you have three of these derbies in a season, that's 135 million. So your earnings will really grow dramatically.

The numbers are quite real.

Clubs will be able to earn more on TV rights.

If they want, they will sell them to the conditional Match TV, but if they don't, they will launch their own channels.

And most importantly, the fans will definitely have something to give money for, ”the functionary noted.

Oreshchuk also explained why some clubs accepted the proposed changes with hostility.

“Most likely, the reform was not to the liking of the middle peasants and outsiders.

They will just remain at a loss.

It's one thing when you hit the top six, it's another if you stayed in the bottom ten.

There you will no longer play with CSKA, Spartak, or Zenit, but you will fight Tambov, - added the former sports director of Dynamo.

According to the former head coach of Krylia Sovetov, Amkar and Saturn Gadzhi Hajiyev, the RFU intends to use innovations to increase the intensity of RPL matches and make the games more dynamic and competitive.

“With this reform, the RFU is trying to shake up Russian football.

Such a decision can be made not only after the failure of the national team at Euro 2020, but also on the basis of the unsuccessful performance of domestic clubs in European competitions.

Although this is just one option.

It is correct that the federation started discussing reforms at all.

Still, there is no such system of the championship that would have no shortcomings.

Even the two-circle has its flaws.

Therefore, the RFU is now faced with the task of minimizing these shortcomings and increasing the principle of the meetings, ”the specialist explained.

The coach also pointed out one significant drawback of the project - too few matches in the first part of the season.

“There are only 24 of them. This is a big disadvantage of the system.

In this case, the teams will have to recruit meetings in other competitions, in particular, in the Russian Cup.

The group stage was just introduced there.

Ideally, you should add about eight games.

It would be nice even considering that we have a winter country, ”Hajiyev added.

But the former midfielder of the Russian national team, Alexander Samedov, is rather wary of the discussed reform.

He believes that there are still enough "blank spots" in it.

“If it will benefit our football, then why not.

I've never really played like that, so it's hard for me to judge.

So far, a lot of questions arise: how many matches will be scheduled in the spring part, how everything will be played.

At first glance, the RPL after such a reform will only become more interesting.

On the other hand, the championship should remain a championship in the usual sense of the word with two circles, ”said the ex-midfielder of Spartak and Lokomotiv.

At the same time, Samedov positively assessed the transitional season of the RPL, when the teams were divided into two eights, and called it "really interesting".

Alexander then played for Dynamo, which won bronze medals.

Finally, the former president of the RFU Vyacheslav Koloskov, although he welcomed the upcoming changes, doubted that they would serve as a panacea for Russian football and help domestic players make a sharp leap in skill.

“At first glance, the idea seems sound. The higher the competition, the higher the class of the players. Their level of skill in such conditions must grow steadily. It is difficult to argue against this. The reform is precisely aimed at removing passing matches and increasing the number of top players. But I believe that no reform will be beneficial until we start training in a modern way. This is the whole point. We saw what kind of football Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic showed at Euro 2020. This is a completely different level. It all depends on the level of individual skill. And what can we talk about if a person cannot transmit a transmission for several meters? " - concluded the functionary.