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For two and a half years, the main troublemaker of Belarusian football was Brest "Dynamo". And if the results of the team are still far from remarkable (he can not enter the top three of the Belarusian championship), then in the public relations section, the club probably has no equal. All the while, the current owner of the Brest dynamo, Alexander Zaitsev, remained in the shadows. And only recently started to communicate with the press. Last week, Alexander Zaitsev granted an interview to TUT.BY in which he lifted the veil of secrecy, spoke of the arrival of Diego Maradona in Belarus, shared his point of view on the future of Belarusian football , was talking about the construction of a new stadium in Brest, but was postponed to a later date. until the next meeting.
– Two years ago, the general public first heard of you as a businessman and head of a football club. All this time, you have been silent. Why now decided to give an interview? Become a public person? Or do you want to dispel unnecessary conversations around you and the team?
– It's funny to give yourself an interview. We are with you almost namesake actually. (Smiles.)
But seriously, it's probably the second. I was not and did not intend to become a public person. Sometimes you have to make comments in the first person on a series of questions.
Then, paraphrasing a well-known phrase, I will ask, "Who is Mr. Zaitsev? "How did you get into football?
– I'll answer with a joke. The swimming world champion is asked how he came to swim. "Slipped," replied the champion. Me too, we can say that I am in football by chance. Born near Brest. When he was a child, he built for the Brest dynamo. When, a few years ago, the club went bankrupt and flew from the first division of the Belarusian championship, I felt hurt in this state of affairs. It was a tribute to childhood, if you will.
– It was two and a half years that you regret to engage in this project?
– No, I only regretted not having enough time to prepare: to penetrate all the processes, to form a team of managers. A bad reflection of the miscalculations was that the club did not fulfill any of the tasks badigned to this season: it was necessary to take the second or third place of the national championship or stay in the fight for the Europa League.
– Player sanctions have been applied?
– in the process. We have a sanctions system and a system of incentives. I would not say that I found the optimal solution. The fact is that I attribute football to entertainment. And it seems to me that in this area it is very difficult to find a "common ground".
– Is football for you a business or something?
– Business. I think football, boxing, tennis, perhaps biathlon should be well monetized. There is of course the phenomenon of North American leagues – NBA, NHL, MLS, NFL. We try to focus on them.
The global football market is growing rapidly and it is foolish that Belarus remains out of these processes.
Judge for yourself: the profit growth of European football clubs is an obvious fact. At 140% in the last 6 years, an average of 54 leagues. The total number of international transfers increased by 31%. Meanwhile, the average amount of transfers has increased by 52%. Since October 2010, more than $ 55 billion has been spent on transfers, while clubs have made just over 100,000 international transfers of professional players.
There is no doubt that the rising cost of television rights. None of the top 5 leagues has seen its value decline in the last 5 years. The result – in England more than 3.5 billion euros in 2016/17, Spain – more than 1.2 billion, Germany – about 0.9 billion, France – 0.7 billion .
If you are scared to run big leagues, be careful – even in small leagues, there is growth: in Poland, about 35 million euros in the last 2 years, the value of the whole has risen up to 58 and 60 million euros for the next 2 years. Romania also has more than 60 million euros. How is?
"We do not need a stadium for 200 million dollars"
– Can you do business in football in Belarus? Probably, only Borisov BATE does it …
– But BATE is flying on a wing. The cost of participation in European competitions is the main source of income. Honor and praise that they have been doing it for so many years, but such a structure also conceals a number of dangers. There are five other key sources of revenue in the world.
Huge funds bring the sale of television rights. As mentioned above, in the leading European leagues, this represents 1 to 3 billion dollars. Our federation is selling $ 350,000. These are tears, not money.
The sale of players is another important source of income. The transfer market is growing. Big clubs spend big budgets on transfers.
Deductions from sponsors and advertisers also significantly replenish the club's budget. Brand names on the shape of players, around the perimeter of the field, in the stadium, etc.
The fifth major source of income is the "merch". This is a souvenir sale, related products. In large clubs this represents 10 to 12% of total revenue. Do not forget the ticket program: "Dinamo-Brest" for the second year in a row – the most visited club in the country.
– Is all this real in Belarusian conditions? Dear players, one or two and miscalculated, few people come to the stadiums, there is no football channel, the sponsors are named in higher order.
– really. But certain conditions must be met. If we want to earn revenue from TV shows and sponsors, it is necessary to change the structure of football, to create the Premier League, to invest in stadiums to get a good TV picture. The consumer should be as close as possible to the main players – players and coaches. We now have the "central" Gomel Stadium and the Borisov Arena that meet these requirements. And with a big stretch – the capital "Dynamo" because of the race tracks.
The stadium of Brest does not allow to have a good image either. At the beginning of the year, I wanted to move the cameras from the high western scene to the east bbad. But nothing has happened. "Brest" has a very limited electrical capacity. For us, a big problem is to spend every game and to realize all our ideas.
– So you decided to build a new stadium? How much will it cost you?
– A stadium for 30,000 spectators will cost around 60 million euros. We do not need a stadium for $ 200 million. If you build yourself, do not fly, investment for 10-12-15 years will be profitable. Do not be afraid of these numbers – and such tasks are not fulfilled. (Laughs)
In a stadium, you will never win. We need a multifunctional complex in which the arena is located. The principle is the same as at the airport. When you have a transplant and you are in a confined space for a few hours, you want it or not, but buy at least a cup of coffee or a magnet on the refrigerator. A person who participates in a football game is also in an enclosed space for about four hours. And if the organizers are able to offer a person an interesting hobby, then, of course, he will spend his money in this complex as long as possible.
We are already in our stadium, not adapted to the realities of modern marketing, with games without status, we get a profit of several thousand dollars. The experts came to see us and were surprised to see how the Dynamo team occupied the 8-9th places [в чемпионате страны]attracts so many fans. But people do not walk on us, but on an interesting hobby.
– What are the sources of financing the construction of the arena? And in what year is the stadium really built?
– We know how to raise money. Cheap resources exist, as for me, in Switzerland and Germany. They are easy to occupy. But the banks themselves never fund the project 100%. As a rule, it represents 70 to 85% of the total. The difficulty so far is to ensure their own participation because it is necessary to divert money from other companies or other sources to earn extra money.
My partner and I are planning to hold an investor conference in Abu Dhabi soon. By preliminary interest, we see that we can bring together a pool of investors. If for some reason this does not happen, then I have a plan B. Now it is important to be patient, to work this issue well. I know that in 5-6 years we will have our own stadium.
– And to make money selling players, have you opened an academy?
– The Brest region has always been famous for its students. It happened that a third of the players of the national team come from the Brest region. We first created our own academy. 118 children of different ages study in Brest. In Alexandria – 36. We plan to open several other branches in the country.
– Why Alexandria? President of the motherland?
– It's simple. We have seen that people in eastern Belarussia were reluctantly sending children to Brest. In Minsk – always yes, but for us – no. Alexandria is in the middle between Mogilev and Vitebsk, and so we close this area. And there is infrastructure: a hotel, a sports complex, a gym. Near Orsha, where I have a business. It's convenient to administer. We want to open another branch in the northwest. And it will be agro or regional center. We are convinced that the commitment and dedication of the player are present in childhood. Therefore, it is necessary to open football schools where guys always pursue the ball in the yard and want to get results.
– You also said that it was necessary to change the structure of football to create the Premier League. There have been attempts to create the "Maistar-league", but that did not go beyond the discussions …
– Belarus is almost the last country in the UEFA zone, where there is no professional league. Indeed, there was an attempt to do it. The shooters were Brest Dynamo and BATE, who took the lead role. For six months, they tried to promote this subject. But it seems to me that they were wrong at that moment. The initiative should not come from specific clubs, because other teams will be jealous, suspecting to lobby for certain interests.
The creation of such a league is aimed primarily at increasing club revenues and developing infrastructure. We will have to solve a set of tasks. We need to find mechanisms to compensate the revenues of the clubs they receive from the state. From this funding should go. The money that the state allocates is trivial by the clubs. It's bad. The brains are dying.
If we create the Premier League, then through hellish work. How did this happen in neighboring Poland? But the quality of Belarusian football is not inferior to that of local football.
At play, Belarusians better. What has shown the football of Polish clubs on the international scene over the past 20 years? Does anyone, such as BATE, have regularly gone somewhere? Even without BATE, we, Brest, have never had any problems with the Polish teams: even in 2016, we exchanged victories with "Yagelonia", in the past, a draw with "Lech", although They could have won. This year, a draw with Legia's line-up champion, and we hit the post three more times. Yes, and Fameyeu, as always, fired on sparrows, this time on Warsaw. But what they did in Poland is cool, it's their championship. And develop it. Revenues are 2 times higher than in Russia.
– Before, the federation, on the contrary, wanted to give the Premier League to the clubs. What is your relationship with the head of ABFF Sergey Rumas?
– nice. Sergei Nikolaevich and I have known each other for a long time. Even when he was the first vice chairman of the board of Belarusbank, I am a discreet employee in the depths of the Sovmin apparatus.
– Do you find that he understands about football financing?
– Rumas deeply understands the creation of the league. I consider him one of the strongest managers in the country. But not everything depends on him: if you talk about funding under Decree No. 191, it is then local communities.
– They say you recently communicated closely with Anatoly Kapsky, recently deceased?
– Before my arrival in football, the acquaintance nodded. Then they sat down, met, had a good conversation, laughed. He immediately said, "Well, is the Brest store closed to me?" I also joked, "Only for the money." We were really bonded by warm relationships. that this man is gone.
I still do not see an equal sports official in Belarus. He could make a product worthy of zero. The criterion of success is regularity – for many years, BATE has been the champion and participates in European competitions. He made sure that a modern stadium appears in Borisov. BATE can be a place to criticize the lack of attention paid to children's football. But it seems to me that they are repairable things. With the right approach for several seasons can appear his own academy.
There is no escape from the evidence. The possession of a club is the only opportunity to own the rights of young football players (after the ban on the possession of football rights by a third party in 2013). And because of the high cost of football players, clubs invest in their own academies. 60% of UEFA area clubs consider the academy not as an expensive part, but as an opportunity to generate additional profits.
"I live in the United Arab Emirates for 10 years"
– What is the total budget of the football club Dynamo (Brest)? According to the newspaper "Pressbol", it rose to 3.5 million dollars in 2017.
– Serious data from the newspaper "Pressball". (LaughsThis year, it has increased to around $ 5 million.
– What is the origin of these funds?
– We already learned to win. Up to one-third of this amount relates to advertising revenue, sponsorship contributions, ticket sales and accessories.
– The remaining funds?
– Won at others [моих] companies.
– Your main badets are the Bremino group and the Sohra group, which is co-owner of the club?
– Yes Yes. But that's not all.
– Tell us about them. What income do they generate?
– Today, the atmosphere is to talk only about football.
– Answer at least when the confusion comes from the fact that Dynamo Brest is controlled by Arab Sheikhs?
– Maybe the fact is that I'm really 10 years old and I reside in the UAE. I have a number of companies registered there. We have made many efforts to promote Belarussian products in the markets of the Gulf countries.
"We did not expect to spend just in Maradona. They wanted to make money with him.
– well Then explain how you intend to turn football into a business.
– Football is a long story. It is built like a pyramid. In the good sense of the word. You can beat money only when you raise bids. And in the presence of a certain level of elements and models of which I spoke above. We want to last a few years and start the process of extracting revenue from pan-European pie.
Understand, we do not sell football. We sell the show. No matter how Brest speaks, there is always interest for him. Many people, especially the untargeted public, are not as interested in football as in the news of football.
– The arrival of Diego Maradona in Brest of this category?
– No, there is another story. But Maradona is such a person that he will always have a series with him. And Hispanic.
The arrival of Diego is a matter of chance. We wanted to organize a friendly match with football club Al Fujairah, who played in the second division of the UAE championship and coached Maradona at the time. He was supposed to lead the club to the big leagues. The crown prince of the emirate of Fujairah, who oversaw the club, was angry at the fact that the team did not enter the tower since first or second place. Diego was fired. He was offended and retired to his villa in Dubai. In police custody, watched television. We had an idea to invite him to Brest. But we were the fourth. He had already received offers from Turkey, China and Saudi Arabia.
It was in our favor that Diego thought he was forgotten on the European market. Moreover, Maradona is socialist. He learned somewhere that Che Guevara and Fidel Castro had come to Peter Masherov to hunt in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. In general, a chain of events has occurred.
– You do not have any frustration with this cooperation? Is it still worthwhile to wait for Maradona in Belarus?
– We knew the difficult character of Diego. It is impossible to operate systematically. He wanted to train, of course. But I've watched his training on YouTube – it's a solid disco. (Smiles) We have a different approach to build a training process. They therefore proposed the position of Chairman of the Board.
Due to the unpredictability of Diego's character, we do not know when our cooperation will continue or how it will end. It is unlikely that he wants to come to Belarus in winter, but anything is possible.
– How much did Maradona come for you?
– This is a trade secret. But believe me, cheap. We did not expect to spend it. And hoped to win with him. While Diego is in Mexico, his lawyers and we have created a legal entity in the UAE, in which his share of the income that he can relate is clearly defined. We are negotiating to attract some sponsors under the name of Diego. In particular, we are talking about the advertising of one of the crypto-currencies in China. Pretty big deal.
– I can not fail to mention another participant in your series – Artem Milevsky. He also has a difficult character. But by the time, according to many fans, he became the leader of the team, his best player, abruptly broke with him. Why
– Artem Vladimirovich, when I left the team, treated us with respect. I did not say a single bad word for us. I will follow the same principle.
In general, Brest tries not to make public the internal kitchen. At that time we had an acute crisis. There was no agreement between the coach and the players. This has resulted in a whole series of events, not just the departure of Artem Milevsky or Lesha Gavrilovich. In the end, everything ended with the players leaving and the change of head coach. And Pacha Savitsky seized the spirit.
Когда происходят такие конфликты, есть вина всех сторон, в том числе и моя. Я невовремя разглядел все [негативные] тенденции и невовремя положил им конец.
– С Савицким могли тоже расстаться, и глядишь, не надо было бы выплачивать компенсацию гродненскому "Неману» за переход футболиста в размере 265 тысяч долларов, которые вам насчитал арбитраж АБФФ.
– у уже подробно высказывался по этому поводу одному спортивному изданию. С тех пор мое мнение не изменилось. Конструменной производительно, клубу, городу Гродно, но не собираемся ничего платить за Савицкого. Убеждены, что правда за нами. Случился прокол чиновников федерации. Они не хотят признать свою вину. Мы намерены отстаивать свою правоту во всевозможных инстанциях.
"Ничья с минским" Динамо "для нас сродни поражению"
– И в завершение давайте поговорим о планах на следующий сезон. Do you have any questions about this product?
– Даст Бог, бюджет клуба на следующий год останется на нынешнем уровне и, возможно, даже немного увеличится. Строительство тренировочной базы в Красном Бору, гостиничного комплекса, медицинского центра.
– Во сколько это вам обойдется?
– База? До 2 млн долларов.
– С главным тренером на следующий сезон уже определились? Телекомментатор Николай Ходасевич сватает Олега Дулуба.
– Это его право высказывать свое мнение. Да, где-то ошибались с тренерами. В то же время ценим Марцела [Личку] и Питера [Левена] за то, что они стабилизировали команду, добавили сплоченности, физичиской готовности.
Но опыта у штаба мало. Производительность: "Шахтеру" – Кубке, БАТЭ – в чемпионате. Ничья с минским "Динамо" для нас сродни поражению. Авершение всего – еще и с "Городеей" не справились. Результата нет. А д д д и и ю ю ю ю ю ю ю ю ю ю.
– С чем вы связываете будущее белорского футбола в целом, если оно есть?
– Есть, конечно. Какая бы ни пришла дурь в голову – всегда найдутся единомышленники. Даже в отношении белорусского футбола. (Улыбается.Так что я в будущее верю, но связываю его с коммерциализацией. Мы должны зарабатывать на себя сами.
Как уже говорил, Беларусь – одна из последних стран УЕФА, где нет профессиональной лиги, которая как раз и видится необходимым инструментом. Вроде бы как роль лиги – зарабатывание денег и взаимоотношения между клубами. Грубо говоря – регламент, права трансляций, спонсоры. А за федерацией – сборные, судейский корпус, низшие лиги, детский футбол и т.д. Но раскрутиться мы можем только при развитии инфраструктуры стадионов – нам надо себя красиво продавать, продавать и продавать.
Конечно, на лигу необходимо вешать развитие инфраструктуры стадионов. Представишь, сколько стоит персональный стадион, – руки опускаются. А сколько их надо? Много. Шансов мало.
Но эти несколько жалких нюансов в нашем деле – это большой процент. Есть возможности даже и сейчас. Надо менять закон о рекламе и об игорном бизнесе. Допускать в спорт беттинговые конторы. Там деньги, и они готовы платить. Пока что реклама тех же букмекерских контор на спортивных мероприятиях запрещена. Таких моментов много. У нас футбол как старая дева – правильная, но недалекая. Получается замкнутый круг: футбол нищий – потому что он нищий. А по уму надо полностью уходить от госфинансирования.
Я догадываюсь, что от моих слов у большинства клубов полный памперс уже, но не тянешь требования по минимальному уровню стадиона – не играй в высшей лиге.
Требования, конечно, постепенно надо повышать, объявляя заранее. Цель – развитие белоркогого чемпионата до топ-15 в Европе в течение, допустим, 15 лет.
Задачи при этом: уйти от госфинансирования, увеличить доходы клубов до как минимум 1 млн долларов в год для новичков лиги. Производить собственные пакеты для телевидения и спонсоров. Опыт Польши показывает, что лига лучше знает, как "улавливать картинку".
Популяризация за рубежом и увеличение аудитории. Тут быстро ничего не будет. Привлечение топ-спонсоров, к примеру, возможно лишь по ходу роста аудитории.
Ну, вот. Это если очень примерными набросками, и есть картинка выживаемости белорского футбола самого по себе как отдельного явления.
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