Izvestia: "FIFA wants to bring beer back to Russia's stadiums"
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has met with the leaders of FIFA and UEFA, Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, in St Petersburg, after which the three of them went off to talk with football supporters.
The prime minister wanted to discuss preparations for the 2018 World Cup, which Russia is hosting, with his distinguished guests, but after Blatter and Platini refused to reconsider the issues of ticket quotas and cancelling visa requirements for the period of the European and World Championships, they quickly moved onto internal matters. The European visitors were beginning to get bored but a very Russian topic caught their attention.
The head of the All-Russian Union of Football Supporters Alexander Shprygin asked Putin to allow beer advertisements inside stadiums. He said this would offer a helping hand to clubs, since beer producers are very generous sponsors. Advertisements for alcoholic drinks at sporting venues are currently prohibited by law. There are plans to make an exception but only for the duration of the 2018 World Cup. The government is currently preparing a draft law for the hosting of the World Cup, which would allow international beer sponsors of the World Cup to place their advertisements inside the stadiums, although these amendments would only come into force in 2017.
Putin was swift to forward the question to Blatter. The 75-year-old FIFA boss quickly perked up and remembered how in 1978, when he was preparing the World Cup in Argentina, you were allowed drink spirits and smoke during matches.
"Nowadays you can't smoke because it's against health and safety rules," Blatter said with regret. "How could you host a World Cup in Germany without beer – it's hideous! Fans want to drink beer. I don't think it's that bad for your health if you drink it at the proper time and in moderation. Let's enjoy life and drink beer."
"I can drink three litres and I'm fine," Putin quipped.
However, the prime minister was sceptical about beer makers sponsoring sports clubs. He said other sources of funding would need to be found and that alcohol magnates were hardly likely to cover all the costs of football clubs.
But the club directors think differently. Club representatives questioned by Izvestia would vote with both hands to bring in beer sponsorship.
"Our club is in favour of this initiative," Yuri Belous, general director of FC Rostov, told Izvestia. "Attracting new products into football would allow clubs to increase their incomes. I don't see anything criminal in beer being advertised during matches, it's a perfectly normal occurrence in the western European leagues. "
He added that if such amendments came into force, clubs would have the opportunity of earning additional revenue, which could then be invested in infrastructure development. Valery Fedoreyev, Spartak's executive director, supported his colleague.
"In my opinion, all the clubs in Russian football would be interested in such an initiative," he told Izvestia. "Everybody knows that the main audience for football is men. Sponsorship and advertisement deals between clubs and other companies would help attract additional revenue. Beer is the main sponsor, even for the biggest European tournaments, like the Champions' League. If this law is passed, everybody wins."
Alexei Golenishchev, Izvestia
Anastasia Novikova, Maxim Allanazarov
