Gazprom a powerful sponsor
UEFA is also running into the Ukraine conflict
2/21/2022, 9:29 p.m
The World Cup playoff game between Russia and Poland is scheduled to take place in Moscow in March. Two Russian club teams still play in the Europa League. What impact is the Ukraine crisis having on football? None at the moment, says UEFA, which is also dependent on Gazprom.
The European football union UEFA “currently” has no plans to postpone or cancel games due to the Russian crisis surrounding the impending invasion of Ukraine. On March 24, Russia will meet Poland in Qatar in the playoffs for the 2022 World Cup in Moscow and Ukraine will visit Scotland. Should Russia beat Poland, they would meet winners Sweden at home against the Czech Republic on 29 March.
“All games should currently take place as planned,” said UEFA when asked by ntv.de. This also refers to the upcoming Europa League matches of the Russian representatives of Zenit St. Petersburg, who will play this Thursday in the round of 32 at Betis Sevilla and Spartak Moscow, already scheduled for those starting from March 10th Round of 16 matches qualified. “UEFA is continuously and closely monitoring the situation,” it said. “It is in close contact with the associations and clubs concerned.”
Major financier Gazprom
The day before, UEFA had already confirmed that it was “currently” also planning to host the 2022 Champions League final in St. Petersburg. The world’s biggest match in club football is currently scheduled for May 28, 2022 at the Gazprom Arena in Putin’s hometown.
St. Petersburg is not only Putin’s hometown, but also the location of the headquarters of the state-owned company Gazprom. As a sponsor, the Russian gas giant is an integral part of the European football circuit. He has been a sponsor of the UEFA Champions League since 2012. Last year, the partnership was extended to the postponed 2020 European Championship in summer 2021, the UEFA Nations League and also the 2024 European Championship in Germany. Nothing is known about the specific sum for the sponsorship.
Alexander Dyukov, the CEO of the oil company Gazprom Neft, a Gazprom subsidiary, has been on the UEFA Executive Committee since 2021. “Basically, Dyukov is a representative of the Russian government,” sports economist Simon Chadwick told Deutschlandfunk. The traditional German club FC Schalke 04 has also been playing with Gazprom as shirt sponsor since 2007. With Matthias Warnig, the chairman of the business performance of Nord Stream 2 AG, a Putin confidant sits on the supervisory board of the current second division club.
Western officials have been warning of a Russian attack on Ukraine for weeks. According to Western information, Russia has deployed around 150,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in the evening that Russia wants to recognize the separatist areas in eastern Ukraine. In this case, the EU had threatened Putin with sanctions. The Minsk peace agreement has thus failed. The situation in the east of the continent of Europe remains extremely tense.