Results of the RPL General Meeting of 22 November: election of Ashot Khachaturyants as the new president, discussion of postponement of RPL tour

On 22 November, a General Meeting was held at the office of the Russian Premier Liga. At the meeting, the participants discussed the following topics.

Election of Ashot Khachaturiants as RPL President

The election of the new Russian Premier Liga president took place at the meeting. The Election Commission had registered one candidate for the post of - Ashot Khachaturyants, who has been acting president of the RPL since 5 October. The participants of the General Meeting held an open vote and unanimously elected Ashot Rafailovich as the new president of the League. The term of office will be five years.

Concept of strategic development

Ashot Khachaturyants presented the draft concept of the RPL’s strategic development. The document lists a number of areas focused on the formation of the Premier Liga as a competitive and attractive tournament. The concept provides for the creation of a strategy for the RPL’s development. A period of three to four months has been allocated for all work, while the formation of the strategy is planned to be completed by the end of March 2022.

The club leaders got acquainted with the project’s content and agreed to prepare their proposals.

Interaction of RPL and clubs with health authorities

During the presentation of the strategic development concept, Ashot Khachaturyants paid attention to cooperation with health authorities on the issue of holding RPL matches during the coronavirus pandemic. Ashot Rafailovich suggested that clubs should first contact the League for assistance in dialogue with the department. In communication with the Moscow health authority, the RPL will interact with the RFU leadership and contact the regional offices directly.

Proposal regarding RFU regulations on dispute resolution

At the meeting, the issue of introducing an amendment allowing the ban on the registration of players to be postponed until the issue is considered by all authorities was considered. The clubs did not make a unanimous decision and decided to take until the end of the month to develop their positions on this issue.

Postponement of RPL matchday 22

The participants discussed the appeal of the RFU and Russian national team coaching staff to change the RPL matchday 22 dates in order to provide the national team with full preparation for the 2022 World Cup play-off games. According to the draft calendar for the 2021/22 season, the matchday 22 fixtures are scheduled for 18-20 March, while the European World Cup qualification play-off matches will take place on 24 and 29 March.

The clubs agreed to postpone the RPL schedule, but postponed the discussion of new dates. The participants are ready to consider both a total and partial postponement of matchday 22 fixtures. After discussion, the new match dates must be approved by both the RFU Executive Committee Bureau and UEFA.