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Abramovich will invest in national team
Russia - 15 December, 2006
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Roman Abramovich will try to revive the Russian national team as he has done with Chelsea – with a cash influx.
Abramovich will invest at least another USD 40 million in the Russian national team. Abramovich's National Academy foundation has earmarked USD 30-40 million for the construction of a new training base for the Russia team by 2008. He will also put money into building a new stadium, his spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday.
His hopes are to shore up a national team that has been flagging since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Abramovich already partly finances national coach Guus Hiddink's salary package, and has put millions of dollars into Moscow club CSKA, which last year became the first Russian club to lift a European trophy when it won the UEFA Cup.
"The Academy is ready to go forward to make sure it is built ... The foundation is the main driver behind the stadium project," a spokesman said, declining to give the exact sum allocated.
Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 for GBP 60 million. Chelsea has won two Premier League titles since his arrival, mainly thanks to Abramovich's bottomless pocketbook.
The Russian edition of Forbes magazine this year estimated Abramovich's wealth, mostly from oil and aluminum assets, at USD 18.3 billion.
It has been a different story for the Russian national team, which failed to qualify for this year's World Cup under former coach Yuri Syomin.
In the years of Vladimir Putin's presidency, marked with a campaign against 'oligarchs', as Russia's super-rich have been accused by the Kremlin of neglecting national interests, Abramovich has become a widely cited positive example of a different approach.
Abramovich will invest at least another USD 40 million in the Russian national team. Abramovich's National Academy foundation has earmarked USD 30-40 million for the construction of a new training base for the Russia team by 2008. He will also put money into building a new stadium, his spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday.
His hopes are to shore up a national team that has been flagging since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Abramovich already partly finances national coach Guus Hiddink's salary package, and has put millions of dollars into Moscow club CSKA, which last year became the first Russian club to lift a European trophy when it won the UEFA Cup.
"The Academy is ready to go forward to make sure it is built ... The foundation is the main driver behind the stadium project," a spokesman said, declining to give the exact sum allocated.
Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 for GBP 60 million. Chelsea has won two Premier League titles since his arrival, mainly thanks to Abramovich's bottomless pocketbook.
The Russian edition of Forbes magazine this year estimated Abramovich's wealth, mostly from oil and aluminum assets, at USD 18.3 billion.
It has been a different story for the Russian national team, which failed to qualify for this year's World Cup under former coach Yuri Syomin.
In the years of Vladimir Putin's presidency, marked with a campaign against 'oligarchs', as Russia's super-rich have been accused by the Kremlin of neglecting national interests, Abramovich has become a widely cited positive example of a different approach.
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