The Central African Republic team is ready to come to Russia for a friendly match against the Russian team. This was stated by the Minister of Sport and Youth Policies of the Republic Heritier Doneng.

“We would be willing to organize a friendly match, because football is a sport that unites and unites people. Unfortunately we did not have the chance to participate in the World Cup and we did not reach the final of the African Championship. Therefore we are open to this idea and would be happy about it.” <…>. I would be very happy to come to Russia and support our team,” Doneng said.

He added that CAR is not yet able to organize a match of this level in the Bangui stadium, as it is undergoing reconstruction. The minister also expressed extreme interest in Russian help in training local football personnel, both players and coaches.

The old format of the Russian Cup with knockout matches made the football tournament more entertaining and understandable. This opinion was expressed by the former coach of the Russian national team Yuri Semin.

Previously, the Telegram channel Sport Baza reported that the Russian Football Federation (RFU) plans to change the format of the tournament, returning to a single-elimination format.

“I liked the old format of the Russian Cup. It was a real cup draw. I think it’s worth returning to the classic system of knockout matches,” Semin said.

“It was more interesting like this: you arrive in a Second or First League team, you see the full stadiums, the real emotion. This format is closer to me. Everything is clear and understandable, if you lose you’re out,” he added.

From the 2022/23 season the tournament is divided into “path RPL” and “Path of the regions”. “Path RPL“includes the clubs of the Russian Premier League, divided into four groups, playing two rounds, a total of six matches. According to the results of the group stage, the first two places go to the upper round of the playoffs, the third to the lower round, and the fourth is eliminated. The Path of Regions consists of qualifying rounds involving amateur teams and clubs from the Second League. At the stage of the fourth preliminary round, clubs from the First League join the winners of the third round. Sixteen winners play according to the cup (one match), the top four teams are added to the lower round of the Russian Cup playoffs. The winners of the “path” will meet in the super final RPL” and “paths of the regions”.

The current holder of the Russian Cup is Moscow CSKA.