Vasily Vakulenko is now the owner of his hometown football club SKA Rostov. The popular Russian rapper, better known by his stage name ‘Basta’, cleared the club of all the debts and has already invested about €140,000. Basta wants to recapture the good old days of SKA.
“Our main target is to create a strong, combat-ready team that will strengthen its position in the Professional Football League (Zone South) to ultimately join the Football National League”, SKA stated on the day of the takeover. Furthermore, SKA intends to reconstruct their current or rebuild their stadium, attract more supporters to the stands and restart their football school in 2020.
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Great Social Project
“The club did not live, but was surviving”, Basta said. “There were no prospects at all and it was very much unclear the club would even continue next season. However, we’ve studied all the issues and started an active search for sponsors. And we’ve found them. Now it’s our goal to reboot the squad and to educate our own players. I would very much like us to succeed. Because this is a great social project.”
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Cup Winners In 1981
SKA currently occupies the seventh position in their league on the third level of Russian football and aims to return to the FNL for the first time since 2008. They have not played in the elite division since 1985.
The club is not well known outside Russia but the army men do have a significant history. They placed very high in the Soviet Top League and reached the final of the Soviet Cup three times before defeating Spartak Moscow to win the trophy in 1981.
Sergey Andreev, a SKA legend who won the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 in Moscow, scored the golden goal. He became the top scorer of this tournament as well. Other SKA legends who might ring a bell to the unrepentant Russian football addicts include Viktor Ponedelnik, Yuri Mosalyov, Anatoly Chertkov, Igor Gamula, Petr Kostenko and Andrey Redkin.
Sponsors
Basta is planning to invest heavily, but will not only do so with his own money. SKA is set to receive financial support from the government of the Rostov region while RT-Capital, a subsidiary of the Rostec Corporation, will be the main sponsor.
“Our first big partner is Rostec, for which I thank them very much”, Basta emphasized.
“This is not just some kind of placement of money for the purpose of advertising a state-owned company. This is a large social project. I think this could be very interesting too for possible future partners and for the residents of our city. And not only for fans of our army club but in general for all the fans in Rostov who are dreaming of a derby in our city. I want SKA to become the first club of Rostov.”
“I’m a proud Rostov resident and want to do something in return. I want everyone to know our city not as a city of gangster stories, but as a city with great football history,” Basta added.
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Russian Elton John
Basta’s intentions are not in doubt, but the opinions are divided on the question if he will realize all his plans.
“He will succeed if he’s really interested in the faith of SKA because he knows how to build a business”, commentator Vasily Utkin stated on Telegram.
With Basta residing in Moscow, Utkin, wonders of the musician’s true commitment to the club.
“He is the Russian Elton John because Sir Elton John has been connected to Watford for decades,” Utkin said. “There are some interesting parallels. But I strongly doubt Basta will move to Rostov. And why would you want to have a football team when you don’t watch their matches? This question remains.”
Former striker and football blogger Evgeny Savin also expressed concerns.
“Over the past 10 years, 50 professional football teams in Russia have gone bankrupt,” Savin said. “I hope Vasya will succeed in breaking the stereotype that state-owned football clubs collapse very soon, but the reality often shows otherwise…”
With SKA currently in mid table of the PFL south, a jump up to the FNL does not look imminent. With the backing of Basta, they have stability and vision to eventually move forward and perhaps give Rostov a derby match in years to come.
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