World Soccer - UK 2020-05)

PLAYING ON

A

s Europe’s leagues ground

to a halt or did not start

at all due to the coronavirus

pandemic, the new season

in Belarus got under way to increasingly

empty stadia – and global interest.

In the past, football in the former

Soviet republic only attracted attention

when perennial champions BATE Borisov

made progress in Europe or during Diego

Maradona’s brief stint as Dinamo Brest

president in 2018. But that all changed

with COVID-19.

In December, Ukraine’s Sport-

became the first foreign TV company

to cover games. Since then, matches

have been screened in North Macedonia,

Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia

and Serbia, with rights also sold to India,

Israel, Lithuania and Russia.

This came about after Belarus’

department of health opted to let

individual sports decide whether to play

on. And so football began as scheduled,

on March 19, with supporters having

their temperature taken before entering

grounds but the fan zones in front of

stadiums closed down.

As the last European league still

playing, matches attracted the world’s

media as the country’s president,

Alexander Lukashenko, downplayed

the virus. “It’s better to die standing than

to live on your knees,” he told local TV.

At least the clubs showed a little more

concern. Before their game with Dinamo

Brest on March 28, FC Slutsk said:

“Given the epidemic situation, in order

to prevent the spread of coronavirus it is

necessary to sit in the stands during the

match.” Seats were also left empty either

side of fans that did attend.

Gate revenue is usually negligible and

TV money is traditionally distributed to

the three main divisions, with the Premier

League getting the bulk which is then

split equally between clubs. But no one

seems to know how much extra cash will

now be available, with simply attracting

attention being the main reason for

playing on.

“Most Belarusian clubs are looking

for investors to come,” says Victor

Radkov, who is involved with business

development at Minsk-based FC

Smolevichi. “For most of the clubs

it is the reason to survive.”

Half of the clubs in the Belarus

Premier League lose money

according to UEFA and most sides

are publicly funded. Only BATE,

who are owned by Belarusian

businessman Anatoli Kapski, and second-

tier Krumkachy Minsk are privately owned.

Sponsorship is vital and the betting

industry has a heavy presence. Cyprus-

based gambling company Parimatch,

which has a large exposure in many

former Soviet states, is a Premier League

sponsor. Parimatch is also the main

sponsor of BATE, who won a dozen titles

in a row before being unseated last year

by Dynamo Brest, who are sponsored by

Favbet. Elsewhere, Maxline sponsors FC

Vitebesk, Neman Grodno and the second

division but the Football Federation of

The country where the game continued against the odds

GLOBAL SHUTDOWN

Belarus

W

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“It’s better to die standing

than to live on your knees”

Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko

Precaution...

fans have their

temperature taken

Defiant...fans (below

and right) at Slutsk’s

City Stadium