The troubles of Russian football begin in childhood
In Russian football, there is a bias towards huge financial injections into clubs, but not enough resources are devoted to children's and youth sports.
This is reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent,” said the General Secretary of the Union of Football Players and Coaches of Russia Nikolai Grammatikov, answering the question why there are not enough high-quality players in Russian teams and they have to attract foreign players.
“The main problem is the coaching staff. We have large investments from state companies and budget funds into professional sports. But instead of funding large amounts of actually state football clubs, it is necessary to help children’s and youth sports and raise the quality and level of pay for coaches. Now there is negative selection in football, when, due to low prestige and low levels of pay, there are practically no professionals in schools for children,” Grammatikov said.
According to him, as a result, all talented children aged 14–15 years end up in leading academies in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Krasnodar, and to a lesser extent in Kazan.
“Today in Russia there are not many places where you can get a high-quality football education,” the specialist notes.
He is also skeptical about the possibility of decentralizing the process of educating players and developing clubs in their schools through the sale of franchises.
“Firstly, in order to understand how well the system will work, it is necessary to educate a football generation, and this will take at least five years. Secondly, parents pay for classes in all franchise schools. Income levels in the regions are already low, and have been steadily falling in recent years.
So a talented child will not be able to play football, because his classes will not be paid for. Children’s and youth sports should be subsidized, if only because football for children not from the wealthiest families is an opportunity for social and financial growth,” concluded Grammatikov.
See also: Escort game, or How to become a football player's wife.
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