From May 21 to 29, Novovoronezh hosted the Russian Cup football tournament for men's teams. Six teams participated, representing the Voronezh, Volgograd, Kursk, and Nizhny Novgorod Oblasts, as well as Moscow and the Stavropol Krai.

The opening ceremony began with welcoming remarks from guests of honour: Pavel Chibisov, Minister of Physical Culture and Sports of the Voronezh Region; Svetlana Tulinova, Deputy Head of Novovoronezh for Social Policy; Sergey Akatov, Director General of the Sports Centre Municipal Autonomous Institution; Roman Limonov, Chairman of the Astrakhan Regional Public Organization “Federation of Sports for the Deaf, Blind, Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, and Persons with Musculoskeletal Disorders”; and Head of the Refereeing Department of the OSFSG Artem Nesterov.

After the welcoming speeches, guests and participants enjoyed performances by dance and sports groups.

The tournament followed a round-robin group stage, with teams advancing to the semi-finals, a third-place match, and the final. Over the course of the competition, three frontrunners emerged: Volgograd, Voronezh, and Moscow, who ultimately battled for the top spots.

In the semi-finals, Voronezh Oblast dominated Kursk Oblast (9-0), while Volgograd Oblast defeated Moscow (4-1), setting up a final clash between the two winners.

The match for third place saw Moscow secure a decisive 5-1 victory over Kursk Oblast. It should be noted that prior to this crucial match, some of the young Moscow players had to leave urgently to take their state school exams.

The final pitted the host team against Volgograd Oblast in a thrilling rematch. Despite losing 3-0 to Voronezh in the group stage, Volgograd turned the tables this time. It was an exceptional match between two evenly matched teams. Young debutant goalkeeper Vladislav Korchagin, an 18-year-old making his first appearance at such a high level, shone brilliantly for the Volgograd side, eager for revenge. Iaroslav Masliakov opened the scoring before the break, and the team also missed a penalty in the first half. In the next 45 minutes, the most experienced forward, captain, and 2013 Deaflympics champion Nikolai Afanasiev secured the victory after a great pass from Masliakov. The final score was 2-0, making the Volgograd team from the regional sports school for adaptive sports the champion of these official competitions.

It should be noted that the Russian Football Cup (deaf sports) is a relatively new tournament, first held in Astrakhan in 2019. Volgograd also triumphed in that debut edition under coach Sergey Fomichenko, now head coach of the Russian national team. After securing the trophy again in Nalchik in 2024, this marks their third national cup victory. All teams are now preparing for the 2025 national championship, set to take place in Novorossiisk this September.

PHOTO ALBUM

Text: Olga Troinikova, Nurlan Tazhigulov

Photo: Daria Dokuchaeva

Translation: Daria Kudelina