“Welcome to Russia”! Press conference dedicated to the start of the PARI Premier Cup took place in St. Petersburg

The event was attended by head coaches and representatives of the participating teams Sergey Semak (Zenit, Russia), Igor Getman (Neftchi, Azerbaijan), technical director of FC Crvena Zvezda (Serbia) Marco Marin and sports director of FC Fenerbahce ” (Turkey) Mario Branco, as well as PARI Sports Marketing Director Alexei Levinsky and First Deputy General Producer of Match TV Dmitry Ryzhkov.

All participants of the press conference noted the high level of organization of the tournament and the teams participating in it.

In particular, the head coach of FC Zenit Sergey Semak welcomed the guests from Serbia, Azerbaijan and Turkey and shared his expectations from the tournament:

– The tournament is of great interest, judging by the number of journalists in the hall. We played Red Star and Fenerbahce not so long ago, and we and the fans liked these matches. As for “Neftchi”, we remember how he played with the Tula “Arsenal”, we understand that in the last championship three teams secured participation in European competitions by a margin. The level of football, the game of the national team, the presence of a large number of players of the national team speaks of the strength of Neftchi. We are waiting for the match with great interest, and we have great respect for the team and the country. When preparing for official matches, there are certain difficulties associated with the fact that the break before the Super Bowl will not be as long as usual. We will resolve the issues of the composition during the Tournament in order to optimally approach the official matches.

Dmitry Ryzhkov, First Deputy General Producer of Match TV, told how the tournament will be technically serviced, and what reward awaits the winner:

“I want to thank every club. This is not an easy story, but hard work to organize such a tournament. It’s almost impossible that we’re all here now. Special thanks to Zenith for their help. All participants of the tournament meet each other as much as possible, for this special thanks. We agreed on this with broadcasters from Turkey, Serbia and Israel. Prize fund? There is no secret here. The winner receives five million rubles. I think that this is a worthy motivation, in addition to tournament tasks. A nice bonus to go home or leave the cup at home in a good mood. From the point of view of the show, this will be the RPL level. This tournament is a serious undertaking, and there is no doubt that we will do our best technically. Studio “Ball” with guests and analytics – all this will also be. As for innovations, I don’t want to get into the soul of the teams, as in the Medialeague, realizing that our participants are preparing for the season. Therefore, the idea of ​​​​shooting at the bench was left.

On the other hand, according to the regulations, there will be penalty shootouts. Last season at this tournament, in such cases, we used a special camera at the Smena stadium. This format turned out to be watchable. We will use it.

Alexey Levinsky, Sports Marketing Director, PARI:

“Last year we also partnered with the PARI Premier Cup and were very pleased with how it went, including the performance we saw as commercial partners. We expect even better results this year. Like all sports fans, we hope that such eminent teams will show very interesting football that fans will enjoy. I thank the Match TV channel for organizing the tournament at a high level.

We are a young brand. It’s not easy that in the past, and now this year, we have become a partner of the tournament. We set ourselves certain goals and targets in terms of media, and the PARI Premier Cup is very important for our brand. Thanks to him, we achieve our goals for media coverage and increase audience loyalty. The international status of the tournament will allow us to achieve even greater coverage.”

Igor Getman, head coach of FC Neftchi:

– The first thing I want to say is a huge thank you to the organizers for the work done, the tournament is really important for us. All the organization is at the level, both in terms of work and in terms of living. I hope the PARI Premier Cup will help us in preparation for the new season. The tournament fit into our preparation schedule, and we were lucky that the organizers created the conditions for us to play with such opponents. In such games, you can find and eliminate shortcomings and develop the advantages of teamwork. It is always a pleasure for me to play in the countries of the former USSR. I saw those times when Russian clubs, Dynamo Kiev, Pakhtakor, and other eminent teams from the post-Soviet space played in tournaments. There was nostalgia. When we played the Commonwealth Cup, the impressions were wonderful. Including from the point of view of the organization.

Crvena Zvezda Technical Director Mario Marin:

— Thanks to the organizers, FC Zenit and our rivals. It is a great honor and privilege for us to participate in such a tournament, it is important for us. Of course, for us this is a big part of the pre-season, our team is going to take the maximum in the sports and marketing areas, and I hope that our participation and the participation of our rivals will increase the level and interest of this tournament, for us this is an important part in preparing for our European campaign . I wish good luck to the participants of today’s match.

Sports director of FC Fenerbahce Mario Branco:

– We are discussing football at this press conference, tomorrow we will start the bureaucratic moments for the flight, if there are no injuries, then the strongest squad will fly. It would make no sense for our team to fly to a meeting with such teams with a weak lineup.