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At the end of 2023, the President of the Russian Premier League (RPL) Alexander Alaev held a meeting with journalists , at which he answered all the convenient and inconvenient questions.
“RPL has set a goal to introduce a third component for the distribution of funds between clubs”
We want to change the distribution system. Currently, 50% is divided equally between the 16 clubs, with the other 50% distributed based on their position in the table. We have set a goal for ourselves – to introduce a third component for the distribution of funds in the RPL. We are talking about a pool of marketing activities: working with the audience in digital, holding a high-quality matchday, attendance, producing your own content. In addition, we are thinking about introducing and further taking it into account in the model for distributing funds of the “Young Player Influence” index. If teams focus on youth, they are on the field and do their job efficiently – this needs to be encouraged. Incentivize the development of young players, and not the import of the next eight foreign players. Some of our clubs are conservative and very different in their approaches. But we, as a league, and they, as clubs, are beginning to understand many things.
The RPL board approved the league's development strategy, which will need to be adopted at the general meeting. I really hope that we will consider the draft fund distribution model there. The faster we set up a new system for distributing funds between RPL clubs, the faster it will work. Can other clubs say that “we don’t need a new system, let’s do it 50/50”? They can. But I will do everything to prevent this from happening. I don’t want this, it will be a blow for me if we don’t change the system. But, honestly, this is going to be a real blow to the gut.
As for attendance, our KPI is 16800. The figure is taken from the 2018/19 season. The best season in terms of attendance since the home World Cup. Now, due to various factors, the figure seems unattainable in the next two to three years. We will contact the RFU to revise the criteria for the effectiveness of our work in view of objective external factors.
Media activities of clubs? I studied foreign experience. Spanish colleagues are already working in this direction and have created a marketing championship. Yes, Real Madrid is not participating in it, but others are interested. We have already stated in the regulations that at least two players need to enter mixed doubles, but if you bring four, place cameras in the locker room, launch activities with the players, put on GoPro cameras – the club gains points. Conventionally, club X does nothing, does not receive points, and club Y received options on how it can get these points, won the rating and received money from the league. Working approach? For me – quite.
The Media League does a lot of controversial things and has also done a lot of useful things. They work with the audience differently. Even the most conservative club leaders a year ago, when I mentioned and talked about it, did not understand. Now they see that this was not some kind of outbreak, that they need to take some elements from there, let it work for us. Everyone understands that it is necessary to change the basic approach in the interaction of football players, coaches and managers with representatives of the media. This work is underway. If we manage to fairly redistribute funds between clubs that work with audiences, that will be great. I was in Voronezh for a cup match, “Fakel” works very well with the audience, for example, this needs to be stimulated.
“I don’t feel the urge right now from clubs to format changes”
I have voiced my position many times, I am not as conservative as many industry representatives, I like various new formats. This discussion has been going on for a long time; there have been many authors of such stories. A year and a half ago, when the Dutch company was brought on board, the goal was to play more. In addition to increasing the intrigue, you need to earn more. After this, many events happened, but now we can say that this issue was partly resolved – a change in the format of the Russian Cup through proposals that were formed by the working group of Roman Babaev and Pavel Pivovarov. In fact, almost 2.5 billion came into the industry through the prize fund from bookmakers. The main thing is that RPL clubs began to play no more than 32 matches on average. Now there are much more matches, at least 36, and without European cups. The problem was partly solved.
I don’t see any options now for the format to be changed in the coming year. RPL is now one of the most interesting championships. There is some intrigue based on the results of the first half. This is the main thing. I hope the second part of the season will be the same. In any case, the RPL is the most visited, most watchable, and most expensive tournament.
In addition, I don’t feel any pressure from clubs to change the format now. I guess I don't have enough arguments. Plus they say that they play a lot and earn money. Perhaps conservatism is at work somewhere. We are closely watching what is happening with our colleagues. As an example, the NBA made an all-season tournament – 26 percent growth in audience! The Champions League will start very soon in a new format. I am a member of all working groups, communicate with club presidents, with journalists – if there was a desire to change the championship, I would pick it up and go. But she's gone now. The next season will consist of 30 rounds in the classic format, and then we’ll see. Much will depend on where we end up. Now we are in a suspended situation, so we can play the Cup. But one day we will return to international matches – and what to do with tournaments? With the Super Bowl? With a “spring-autumn” system?
“There is a proposal for Super Bowl reform”
The working group is currently actively discussing holding an additional tournament. It can have from 4 to 816 teams, the tournament has a playoff format. Maxim Lvovich [Mitrofanov] commented that work is underway on this option. But, in principle, this option was prompted by the successful experience of clubs that independently held such events, for example, the Brotherhood Cup, individual matches with representatives of the Media League. These events were successful, you know how much the clubs earned from the Brotherhood Cup, from matches with 2Drots. Therefore, some option in this direction is possible.
There's a proposal for Super Bowl reform—maybe a Final Four. Maybe the final six. There is a possibility that we will return to international competitions, so finishing playing in November and not playing in December is not the best option for all clubs, because there are official games in international competitions in December, and somewhere even in January. If our clubs become participants again, participants in these tournaments must prepare for them. In my opinion, the Super Cup could become such a tournament. Just an option so that everyone doesn’t have to freeze, the rest could go on vacation, this working option can be considered.
“The discussion about the transition to “spring-autumn” is not relevant now”
Does it make sense to switch to a “spring-autumn” system? It is short-sighted to talk about this now only after the unsuccessful December games. Many factors influence such a decision. One way or another, we remain members of UEFA. The European Championships are held in the summer – yes, we won’t play the next one. But a number of players from the RPL can go, foreign players must be released. Also, one of the federal channels will be able to show a certain volume of broadcasts, and then how to allocate television slots with RPL matches? It is impossible to play in parallel with the Euro. It is clear that holding matches in December is uncomfortable for both clubs and fans. But the discussion about the transition to “spring-autumn” is not relevant now.
I have already apologized for the Baltika – Spartak match. We can absolutely say that this is a mistake for the league. There just weren't any red balls where they should have been. According to the current regulations, the club declares only one set of uniforms seven days before the match, and there is not a word about the reserve one. Also, according to the regulations, the referee chooses the markings on the field. Regulatory documents definitely need revision. It should be possible to oblige teams to take a second set with them in conditions of reduced watchability of the match from the point of view of the main broadcaster.
In the match CSKA – Rostov, the league was also in favor of a postponement. In my opinion, it was advisable to postpone the game to the next day. It was possible to put the field in order, since according to the weather forecast the snowfall would end in the evening. The match could have been played on a cleared field, although not entirely in comfortable conditions. “Rostov” would only need to extend the hotel for one day, plus we would maintain the integrity of the calendar, and would not go into the winter break with a different number of matches in the standings. But our regulations, which we apparently did not review, do not allow anyone other than the referee to reschedule the match. Moreover, the referee can only suspend the match after the starting whistle. No one could come an hour before the match when it was snowing and say: “There will be no game.” Neither a judge, nor a delegate, nor the president of the RFU, nor the president of the RPL. There are clearly defined force majeure events. For example, the lights are turned off at the stadium. Then it could be postponed to the next day. But due to weather conditions, the league cannot reschedule the game. When I spoke with referee Shafeev and said that the League was in favor of the transfer, because this field is dangerous for the health of the players and the picture does not meet the requirements of the RPL, the referee should have led the teams onto the field, blow the starting whistle, and only after that suspended the match and moved it to Tomorrow. This is our regulation. This case revealed our problem in the regulations. It is necessary to clearly state who, how and on what basis can reschedule the match. We also have to think about the fans who came to the stadium and are freezing. We must admit the mistake that we have leaky regulations. We want to fix it as soon as possible. The regulations allow expanding the list of force majeure events under which the match should be postponed.
“The basic principles when drawing up the calendar require revision”
If we are talking about the temperature at which the match is postponed, then the recommendation about -15 degrees came from UEFA. It seems to me that we need to think about this too. At -15 it is really very cold, it is dangerous for the health of football players. Both fans and football players are primarily at great risk. This topic was discussed at the RFU executive committee. I think this norm can also be revised.
Before I took over the league, I never had to do any calendar planning. This was my first time. I came to the experts and asked how this should be done.
As a result, I learned that we have basic calendar principles that are not allowed. There are several of them. For example, you cannot play more than three matches in a row away, more than three matches in a row at home, you cannot play two rounds in a row with AA category opponents (Zenit, Spartak, Lokomotiv, Krasnodar, CSKA), you cannot play one round there were several AA category matches, and so on. These criteria were invented many years ago. Because of this, it turns out that in order for someone not to play four matches in a row at home, they need to play in Voronezh in December.
I have a question: is it better for a conventional “Zenit” or “Krasnodar” to play four games at home at the turn of November and December, and for “Orenburg” to play four games away or so? In the end, everyone will still play an equal number of matches both at home and away. We have driven ourselves into these principles. I am sure that they need to be reviewed. I will talk to the clubs, someone will play five matches away from home, but at +15 in good conditions.
There are also club restrictions. Some people have 18 concerts. We try to take into account all the interests of the clubs as our employers. But then the clubs themselves suffer because of this. We still need to make some adjustments before the end of the year. I think we will publish a calendar at the beginning of 2024.
“We hope that the situation with beer at stadiums will be resolved before next season”
The autumn session of the State Duma has ended, there are no official meetings now. The work is carried out by a specialized committee, we are in touch with them. We understand which departments were against it. I hope the situation will be resolved before next season. We have expressed and officially submitted the position of the RFU, the league and the clubs, and are ready to discuss.
The Ministry of Health's claim is that people drink too much, this (beer in stadiums) stimulates alcoholism. There was a discussion (in the State Duma) that fans could drink vodka before the match and go to the game. And normal people will come with their families and drink beer for 500 rubles. Few people will buy beer for 500 rubles. But these arguments are not yet accepted.
“I have never communicated with Mr. Mazhich, but I’m not too worried about it.”
Conflict with the head of the RFU refereeing department? For there to be conflict, you need to communicate. At least once. I have never communicated with Mr. Mazhich. I promised not to comment on the judging, but the first part of the season is over, so I can afford it.
We must understand that refereeing is the prerogative of the RFU. I treat my colleagues from the RFU with respect: special thanks to them for the offside lines. My harsh statements on refereeing were in order to draw attention to the problem. In my opinion, the leaders of the judiciary chose the wrong tactics: a minimum of public explanations and contacts with clubs. It was also clear that the same ESC was inclined to protect the arbitrators. And this is not just my opinion – colleagues with international experience agree with me.
I must say that after my statements, meetings with some of the clubs took place. The work of the ESC has also changed. Yes, my words were emotional and resonant, but I managed to draw attention to the work of the judiciary. I will not evaluate the work of the judges themselves, but some decisions of the ESC remain incomprehensible to me. The same decision not to send off Pinyaev for a foul on Claudinho. To me this is an obvious red card. I will add that five current European Champions League referees agreed with me. The ESC said it was yellow. But let them work – I am most interested in ensuring that there are fewer scandals. There is one more thing – the tendency towards openness. We see that La Liga and the Premier League are moving towards this, publishing negotiations between referees after the most resonant decisions – the same match between Tottenham and Liverpool. We don't have that now. The more we classify everything, the more questions there will be. I would like to hear the negotiations of the arbitrators when making key decisions. When Khachaturyants was the head of the ESC, I regularly attended meetings and saw how everything was happening. There people argued, discussed, and made decisions. Yes, there were also mistakes, but there was an understanding of how people work. How does ESC work now? We do not know. Are they going? Are they discussing on the phone? Do they send materials by mail? We don't need a voice – just be a little more transparent.
Returning to Mazhich – I’m not offended by him for not communicating. But you came to a country where there is an established football management structure, where there is an employer who pays you a salary, who resolves financial issues. Why can’t you come to a general meeting of clubs and say: “My name is Milorad Mazic, I now lead the judges. I have such a position that I will not communicate with you – I have this approach. I treat you with respect, but I have this position – I'm closed.” I would say: “Weird, but okay.” This is a position.
We discussed this with Alexander Dyukov. He offered to organize a meeting for us. But before my words there were no meetings, now they have taken place. Therefore, after Dyukov’s proposal, I said that I didn’t see any point in my personal meeting with Mazhich, because I didn’t want to rock the boat. Why play to the public that we have appeared somewhere?
Foreign referees in the RPL? The league needs quality arbitration. I don’t know how many combat units the department has now – some are out of shape, some are injured. If the clubs decided that foreigners will have the right to referee here, then they will referee. But it’s more important to me that our judges got the opportunity not only to stew in their own juices, but also to go somewhere.
“A revival of interest in television rights has begun on RPL, a year ago he wasn’t there”
Now everyone has perked up a little, the movement has begun. Yes, the numbers offered by friendly countries are not very encouraging. But a year ago there was just zero, no interest. We have pushed off from the bottom, some deals are possible. These are countries from which many players come to the RPL, and rich countries from the East. Someone offers from 50 to 100 thousand dollars per season. This is better than zero, plus presence in some territory. But there are things more important than the amount of the contract: positioning, highlights, what platforms they are, if, for example, we talk about China.
Our positioning? There is a desire to be shown everywhere. The same Chinese love football very much – they watch everything, not just the Premier League. I think that Chinese football players can appear in the RPL. There is an offer to purchase the rights, we are not accepting it yet, because this should be a long-term cooperation. Now the Chinese are trying to persuade us. We tell them that, firstly, there is not enough money. And, secondly, it is important for us how they will distribute us. Now RPL is shown only in the territories closest to us, but gradually interest from unfriendly countries is appearing again. To understand, we are now doing statistics with Yandex and RusStat, and recently the Italians approached us – they also want to offer something with statistics. Or, for example, balls – we have Nike or Demix options, but recently one European manufacturer showed interest in cooperation.
Rostov and Spartak became ideal candidates for participation in the Winter RPL Cup”
How was the list of participants formed? First, we found out the positions of all the clubs, who is ready to take part, who is holding training camps and where. Then they decided on the format. There were two options – four or eight participants. We decided to stop at the first one. There was also an idea to make the tournament international with an optimal composition – two Russian teams and two foreign ones. We thought that Rostov and Spartak would be ideal options from the RPL. The remaining two participants in our situation are the top. Kairat, who played well against Zenit. This is a brand from a friendly country with a large army of fans and history, which will help the development of the league in this territory. And also the UAE champion, led by the well-known Marko Nikolic.
“We will discuss participation in the Super League when we receive the application and documents.”
I have not communicated with the clubs. Firstly, you can treat this differently, but we remain members of UEFA and must comply with the statutes. Secondly, in order to discuss something with clubs, I need to get information and documents. I am not the person who will call the club manager and ask what he thinks about such and such a publication in the press. There will be some kind of appeal, we will analyze it for compliance with the statutes of the RFU and UEFA. After that you can think about it.
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