“It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the decision”: FNL will audit Crimean football clubs for inclusion in the league

The Commonwealth forum, which is taking place these days in Evpatoria, turned out to be truly historic for domestic football, since two significant decisions were made at once.

Firstly, the creation of the Commonwealth League was officially announced, which will include teams from the LPR, DPR, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Kherson, Zaporozhye and Kharkov regions, as well as the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

It is expected that 13 teams will take part in the tournament.

It should start next spring and end in November.

The format is under discussion.

Also, competitions of youth teams can be held within the framework of the project.

“A lot of work has been done to realize the idea.

This is, of course, a breakthrough for the football of the republic.

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the decision.

This will give a huge impetus to the development of football and raise interest in it.

There is an opportunity to grow and test yourself at a higher level, ”Sport24 quotes the words of the President of the Football Union of the DPR, Pavel Davydenko.

However, for Crimea, the words of the head of the FNL Nail Izmailov, who visited the forum, about conducting an audit on the peninsula in order to assess the state of affairs in local clubs, became much more important.

“The bottom line is that teams that are ready to play in tournaments held under the auspices of the RFU must meet certain requirements that are part of the licensing procedure.

We will follow this path and look at their economic condition, the readiness of the infrastructure to receive fans, the readiness of academies or children's schools to generate a new generation.

It will be necessary to assess the legal issues of the existence of clubs, the presence of debts.

Only after this multilateral assessment can any decisions be made, ”the functionary explained.

According to his forecasts, the process will turn out to be quite lengthy, and one should not expect a verdict within a month or two.

To begin with, a working group should be formed, which will include representatives of the Ministry of Sports, the Crimean Football Union, the RFU, the FNL.

A statement on the official website of the league says that after the audit, the collected data will be transferred to the RFU.

The Union, after a joint review of the reports with the Ministry of Sports, will make the final decision on the inclusion of clubs from the Crimea and Sevastopol in the "competitive process".

According to the President of the Crimean Football Union Sergei Borodkin, the date of the first visit of the FNL delegation will be announced next week.

He also specified that the group will include specialists from various fields: financial, technical, infrastructure.

As for the teams that can replenish the league in the future, the former head of the football union of the peninsula, Yuri Vetokha, suggested: under favorable circumstances, present the region in a state of two or three teams.

They can receive opponents at stadiums in Sevastopol, Simferopol and Yalta that meet the requirements.

And the general director of Sevastopol, Valery Chaly, in a conversation with Sport24, emphasized that, in addition to his club, the capital's Tavria is ready to go for an increase.

“These two teams are the pillars of Crimean football.

Eight more clubs that play can apply for consideration.

It's already there.

I can't say how quickly and clearly this will all pass.

The main thing is that the issue is on the agenda,” Chaly explained.

He assessed the news about the audit very positively.

In his opinion, the integration of Crimea into the system of Russian professional leagues will give impetus to the development of football on the peninsula.

He also rejoiced at the creation of the Commonwealth League, in which the region would also be represented.

However, sanctions from UEFA and FIFA threaten to become a serious fly in the ointment in the history of accepting local teams in the FNL.

So, in the Union of European Football Associations, in response to a corresponding request from the domestic media, they recalled that the executive committee of the organization in December 2014 banned Crimean clubs from participating in competitions held under the auspices of the RFU.

At the same time, UEFA decided that the region should be considered as a "special zone".

FIFA left this issue without comment "at the current stage."

That is why the country's football leaders spoke very cautiously on this topic.

For example, the head of the RFU, Alexander Dyukov, emphasized in May that the issue of accepting clubs from the peninsula could be considered if there was an appeal, but it was not received.

And the head of the RPL, Alexander Alaev, in August announced the need to maintain a dialogue with UEFA and FIFA.

“There are no agreements with them.

There were informal consultations.

Everyone has an understanding that the situation has changed.

For eight years, colleagues could not do anything.

It is necessary to develop football in the Crimea ... There is no question of whether to accept in the RFU.

There is a question about the development of football.

To accept or not to accept is too narrow.

Football should develop there, children should play, coaches should appear.

The implementation of this mechanism may be different, ”Sport-Express quotes the functionary.

The news about the FNL audit in Crimea was received positively by the State Duma.

According to deputy Roman Teryushkov, this decision is absolutely correct.

Until 2018, it was impossible to go against the leading international football organizations in order not to lose the right to host the World Cup.

At the same time, he believes that the current restrictions on domestic sports will not be removed soon, and therefore one should not be afraid of new sanctions.

“The return of our national team and clubs to the European arena is a matter of a very long time.

I don't think it will happen before ten years.

In such a situation, it is necessary, simply speaking, to give a damn about the position of UEFA and FIFA and develop football on its territory.

Let them bite their elbows, realizing that they cannot influence us in any way.

All Russian sports should be present in Crimea…” he explained his position in a commentary on MatchTV.

He was supported by the honorary president of the RFU Vyacheslav Koloskov.

He stated that there are all legal grounds for inviting local clubs to the FNL, since the peninsula is an integral part of Russia.

“All the constitutional rights that the constituent entities of the Russian Federation have apply to Crimea as well.

Including on equal terms, including sports issues.

Therefore, from the point of view of our legislation, everything is quite reasonable, logical and absolutely fair here, ”the functionary emphasized in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Meanwhile, he welcomed the audit to first study the state of professional football in the region and see if local teams can replenish the composition of domestic leagues.

Similar steps were taken back in 2014, immediately after the annexation of the peninsula to Russia.

Then three teams were admitted to the Second Division: SKChF (Sevastopol), Zhemchuzhina (Yalta) and TSK (Simferopol).

However, in December, UEFA banned local clubs, starting from January 1, 2015, from participating in competitions under the auspices of the RFU.

The Russian Football Union did not resist and expelled the teams.

Matches already played have been annulled.

In return, UEFA decided to hold its own championship among professional clubs on the peninsula.

Over the past seven championship draws, Sevastopol took gold three times.

TSK-Tavria and Evpatoria celebrated the victory twice.