Little interest in Abramovich tournament

Russian champions CSKA Moscow won USD 1 million in prize money when it beat Spartak Moscow at a tournament in Israel last week but the parties that were held seemed to hold more interest than the matches.

The USD 8 million six-club tournament, sponsored by English Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, was originally set up to provide top Russian and Ukrainian clubs with quality competition during the long winter break.

Parties that had vodka, caviar and lots of blondes showed the event was as much a social gathering for the rich and famous as it was a football competition.

Last year's tournament with CSKA Moscow and Spartak Moscow, along with Ukraine's top two clubs, Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev, was largely ignored by the Israeli public, so organisers added two home clubs to stimulate interest.

Despite extensive media coverage, the attendance was disappointing.

The final match was played in a half-empty 16,500-seat at Blumfield Stadium, while group matches drew even less.

Most fans were from the country's large Russian-speaking community but native Israelis showed little interest. Even matches involving the two leading Israeli sides, Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Tel Aviv, failed to capture the fans attention.

The match with Spartak Moscow and Dynamo Kiev, Russia and Ukraine's most popular clubs was the most interesting and brought to mind the rivalry of the two clubs in the 1970s and 80s.

"The Israeli public by large have not understood the very nature of this tournament," said Ofer Ronen-Abels, Israeli FA press officer.

"Israeli fans don't want to pay money to watch friendlies. In three weeks when Maccabi Haifa face CSKA in the UEFA Cup at this stadium, I can bet there'll be a lot more people here. "Russian or Ukrainian teams also lack star players for local fans to identify with. If we had Chelsea playing, this stadium would have been full," Ronen-Abels said.

"The English Premiership is so popular in Israel that most fans would prefer to watch it on TV rather than come to the stadium to see some of these teams.

Having Chelsea compete in the tournament is not likely since there is no midseason break in the Premier League but there is talk of expanding the competition further.

"I think the tournament is here to stay. The quality of football has grown from last year and I think this trend will continue," said Yevgeny Giner, CSKA Moscow president.

"It would be tough to bring clubs from England, Italy or Spain here at this time of the year simply because they are playing in their domestic leagues, but we can try to invite top teams from South America, from Brazil or Argentina for example."

Abramovich, Shakhtar Donetsk , president and Ukraine's wealthiest magnate Rinat Akhmetov, Spartak Moscow boss Leonid Fedun and others, watched from the VIP box.

While some VIPs came to be seen, at least one showed a genuine interest in the game itself.

Abramovich, accompanied by close friends along with diamond magnate Lev Levaev and Giner, attended every match except for the opener.

For over a week, Abramovich and fellow Russian-born billionaire Arkady Gaydamak, owner of Betar Jerusalem FC, tried to outdo each other by bringing Russian pop stars to Israel, where nearly a quarter of the 7.3 million population speaks Russian, to entertain their guests.

The lavish parties made native Israelis envious and drew a sarcastic response from the media.

Gaydamak, whose son Alexandre owns English Premier League Portsmouth, will have a good chance to compete on the football field as well next year.

Since Abramovich said he will run the tournament again next year, chances are Betar Jerusalem, which is at the top of the Israeli league midway though this season, will be invited to take part in a third tournament.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.