"Beyond the war, Russian football will decline, there's no transparency" (A. Somoggi, Sports Value)

"The problem in Russia is that there is no transparency. This is one of the reasons why the Russian league will lose its position, beyond what is happening with the war (in Ukraine) and the sanctions. Clubs might even disappear. Investors want to know the truth about the economic situation of clubs they're interested in: ESG (environmental, social and governance criteria), quality, financial issues, etc.," said Amir Somoggi, founder and managing director of Sports Value, a sports marketing agency based in Sao Paulo (BRA), to News Tank Football on 13/04/2022.

For several years now, Sports Value has been offering an analysis of football's "emerging leagues", i.e. those that generate the most revenue behind the European Top 5 championships (England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France). In its 2021 edition (document available to download), which takes into account 2020 figures, the study places Russia at the top with a total of $965m (€858m, excluding transfers) generated by first division clubs, ahead of the MLS ($825m/€725m, 2019 figure) and the Turkish Süper Lig ($737m/€655m).

This…