Raketa Kazan Still on Shaky Financial Ground

BOULDER, Colorado -- Raketa Kazan was looking forward to the 2007-08 season - with new financial backing, the club had bought nine new players, including five Swedes and two Finns. These purchases turned the perennial also-ran into an immediate contender, but their new-found wealth has all but disappeared, and club officials fear they may not be able to operate at all this season, Sovetsky Sport reported in its July 23 issue.

Former club president and principal sponsor Nikolai Kolesov signed these new player deals, reportedly offering salaries of US$20,000-$25,000 per month, sums almost unheard of in professional bandy. But in May, Kolesov was appointed governor of the Amur Region of Siberia, and since leaving Kazan, he has failed to pay any of the team's bills or player salaries.

Kolesov remains the official president of the team, but general manager Valery Nosov and the accounting staff have been unable to contact him to resolve the financial crisis by either receiving funds from Kolesov or seeking new sponsorship, which would also require his approval, Sovetsky Sport reported.

Five of the new players have already been released by the team - these players had existing contracts with other clubs, and Raketa had never paid transfer fees, meaning they returned to their old teams without ever setting foot in Kazan. These players included Petteri Lampinen and Per Nilsson from Edsbyns IF, Patrik Nilsson from Sandvikens AIK, and Johan Andersson and Daniel Mossberg from Zorky Krasnogorsk.

As for the players signed who were not under contract, Andreas Bergwall has returned to Swedish club Hammarby IF, while Sami Lakkonen has returned to Zorky. The two Russian players - Pavel Frantz and Alexei Chizhov - have decided to leave the team as well, signing with their previous Russian clubs.

Raketa's former sponsor was Elekon, a state-owned factory that manufactures heat exchangers. Last year Elekon sold the club to Kolesov, along with a promise that the company would support the team for the next 10 years. However, it appears as if Elekon has withdrawn its financing, and Kolesov is nowhere to be found.

Raketa is still searching for new sources of funding, as well as its former boss, but they have managed to field a team for the Russian Cup, one that is likely to come up well short of the promises made this off-season.