"Suleiman Kerimov helps football and Dynamo Makhachkala

Dynamo Makhachkala got off to an unexpectedly successful start in the new RPL season, winning the first two rounds of the Russian Championship away from Fakel Voronezh (2:1) and at home against Lokomotiv Moscow (1:2). Even losing in the third round away to Dynamo Moscow (1:3) does not prevent a club with one of the smallest budgets in the league from going to the top of the table.

Meanwhile, in the winter, the Dagestani team underwent changes in the club's management structure — the board of directors was created, and the position of president, which was held by the famous coach Gadzhi Gadzhiev, was abolished, under which Dynamo rose to the RPL and stayed in it in its first season-2024/25. He was transferred to the post of honorary president. In an interview with Izvestia, the then head of the Republic of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, who now provides assistance to the club, commented on the winter reshuffle, Dynamo's financial situation and the role of billionaire, ex-owner of the Anzhi football club Suleiman Kerimov in his life.

— What was the logic behind the winter changes in the club's leadership?

— The logic is to review the management model of the club. And to move away from the unity of command in the person of the president to some kind of management that would allow the club to develop in certain areas. Both in sports, as well as in financial and economic areas, working with fans, media projects, and so on. That is why we have come to such a reorganization.

— Financially, Dynamo Makhachkala is a very austere club by RPL standards, it has one of the smallest budgets in the Premier League. Is there a way to increase his budget in order to set higher goals than the heroic struggle for survival in the elite?

— Unfortunately, the situation is such that today many of us are forced to adopt such asceticism. I won't predict any promising stories here, but I will say that we are looking for these opportunities in order to financially strengthen the club. And these victories in the first two rounds of the current Russian championship, as well as the good quality of the game in the lost third round match against Dynamo Moscow, make it possible to find and attract people interested in supporting Dynamo football club (Makhachkala).

— Haji Hajiyev, in a June interview with the Sport24 website, called the abolition of his position an unprecedentedly cynical story and accused the club's CEO Shamil Gazizov of intrigues. How did they react to these words of his?

— He didn't react in any way. I have my own opinion. I read his interview, but I'll keep my opinion to myself.

— Did you talk to him after that performance?

- no. I had a meeting with him even before this interview, even when there were changes at the club. We discussed that to some extent we need to improve not only what is happening on the field and in the locker room, but also around football. In principle, he was privy to the fact that there would be a reorganization. I'm putting everything that happened next out of the picture. Most likely, these are private disagreements.

— You left the post of head of Dagestan in early May, but you are still helping Dynamo. To what extent does the fate of the club depend on the personality of the head of the region? Can we be sure that under the new leadership of the republic, the club's support will at least not decrease?

— I believe in it. We talked with the leaders, both with the acting head of the republic, Fyodor Shchukin, and with the chairman of the Government of Dagestan, Magomed Ramazanov. Both believe and hope for the success of our team and promise to support it.

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— To what extent does the republic financially participate in the life of Dynamo during your time and after your departure?

— At the time of joining the RPL, most of the funding was from the republic's budget. And already when we entered the Premier League, various sponsorship contracts began to appear with various organizations that supported the team. In general, I believe that not only the fate of the club, but also the fate of Dagestan football as a whole should be in the hands of the leaders. Having a top team, we can actively develop children's football under its brand.

Today we are the leaders in such RFU programs as "Football at School". And in general, 360 thousand children in the republic are currently playing football. They don't just practice: We have created conditions — and I hope they will continue to be created under the new leadership of the republic — for the construction of football grounds, training and selection of coaches, and various other projects. The idea is that Dynamo, as the top of this pyramid, should prepare a reserve of its Dagestani students who love football very much.

— When the Dynamo management structure changed in the winter, did rumors spread in the media about Suleiman Kerimov's involvement in the club? Is it there? If so, to what extent?

— It would be incorrect for me to talk about the degree of participation. After all, this is a financial support issue. And I would not like to list specific amounts. But Suleiman Kerimov is very active in supporting sports and football in particular. And Dynamo (Makhachkala). Thanks to him, we have made many changes to the logistics base.