The Eastern Cup Football Tournament kicks off in Kazan: who is participating and why the tournament is important for Russia
Tatarstan managed to hold an international football tournament in the era of sanctions
The second ever international children's football tournament, the Eastern Cup, kicked off in Kazan on Wednesday. Ten teams from Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Oman and Azerbaijan are participating in the competition. The tournament was first held in September last year and was considered a success. This time, the organizers included the Eastern Cup in the official programme of the international forum Russia — Islamic World.
“The Eastern Cup is a symbol of friendship and cooperation between countries”
“Today we have gathered here to open the second international children's football tournament, the Eastern Cup. Thanks to the support of Tatarstan Rais Rustam Minnikhanov, I am sure that the tournament will become a good tradition. The Eastern Cup is not just an international football tournament, it is a symbol of friendship and cooperation between our countries. I am sure that such events contribute to the expansion of good, open friendly relations between our countries,” said Rubin President Marat Safiullin in his welcoming speech.
Advisor to the President of the Asian Football Confederation Fahad Abdullah Musa Al-Raisi also noted the importance of the tournament being held in Kazan. He especially emphasized that he kept his word given last year and brought with him a team from Oman, whose football federation he currently heads.
“I welcome and thank all the participants of the tournament for their participation. As I promised, I brought our team from the Sultanate of Oman here. We are very happy to play here. The great attention paid by the political leadership of Kazan, the Ministry of Sports and the management of the Rubin club, arouses great interest and makes Kazan the capital of attraction for the Islamic countries of the East,” said Fahad Abdullah Musa al-Raisi.
Daku and company held the draw
One of the organizers of the Eastern Cup is traditionally Kazan Rubin. If last year the club delegated famous football players of the past to the event, then this year four players of the main team came to the tournament at once. Thus, the draw for the group stage was held by Oleg Ivanov, Mirlind Daku, Ruslan Bezrukov and Marat Apshatsev.
What is interesting is that the football players sat in the same hall with the young participants of the tournament, actively communicating with the children and taking joint selfies. Daku, despite the language barrier, tried in every possible way to joke and did not refuse anyone photos. Bezrukov jokingly took the shin guards from a boy from Rubin and tried to put them on himself, and then rewarded him with a fatherly hug. Everything would have dragged on for several hours, but fortunately, in the lobby of the building, a mini-photo session with the players was organized for each team near a pre-prepared stand.
Following the draw, 10 teams were divided into two groups of five each. Rubin got to play in the group stage against clubs from Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Oman, as well as Ufa from Bashkortostan. In the neighboring group, Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik received as opponents the teams Abdysh-Ata (Kyrgyzstan), Sabah (Azerbaijan), Babilon (Tajikistan) and Yelimai (Kazakhstan). By the way, the Kazakh children came to the tournament as vice-champions of the previous Eastern Cup. In the autumn, Yelimay lost to Kazan Rubin in the final and remained second. Now the Kazakhs intend to take revenge and leave Kazan with a victory.
The tournament matches will be held on the football fields of the Molodaya Gvardiya children's health camp in the nature conservation area near Lake Lebyazhye. The teams will compete in a 7x7 format, where the average age of the participants is 10-11 years. The Eastern Cup will last until 17 May.
Why is the Eastern Cup important?
In Russia, the Eastern Cup has not yet gained sufficient popularity, although the organizers have managed to bring foreign clubs to Kazan for the second time. In the era of sanctions and the disqualification of Russian teams and national teams from international competitions, such tournaments are of particular importance. Moreover, children from other countries come to the country to participate, and they will then fondly remember this long trip to Tatarstan.
The Tatarstan organizers of the tournament have already begun to receive requests to hold the next Eastern Cup outside of Russia. Rubin President Marat Safiullin confirmed that in the future these competitions may be moved to another country. In particular, Oman is showing active interest.
“There are proposals from other countries, we will consider them. Oman has come up with a similar initiative. I think that an appropriate decision will be made based on the results of this year's tournament,” Safiullin said.
At the same time, the Rubin president added that they have never had problems inviting foreign teams to the Eastern Cup. According to him, during the entire period of the tournament, not a single refusal of invitees. In this regard, the organizers are even considering the idea of expanding the number of participants.
