Yevgeny Dod, CEO of JSC RusHydro
We have just signed the agreement on strategic partnership with our Ossetian friends and colleagues. North Ossetian land is native for our company. We have been working there for more than 80 years, and we carry out large investment projects. We are one of the largest taxpayers in the region. For us, this collaboration is a large element of social policy, our social responsibility in the country; of course, access to the cooperation with "Alania"and our actual shares in the capital of this club is both a socially important project and starting a new business, which is, in my view, quite interesting for us. We are sure that our cooperation will be long term. We were very impressed by the fact that the football club "Alania" operates not only in its professional field; there is a good children's sports school, there are promising children there, and in anticipation of the next championship, of course, the focus on the internal potential of our country and of our young guys who have to participate in the championship in 2018, and so forth, is quite a correct position. I am sure that both in this season and in the next one the figures which the team will show will be resistant, and that the financial model which we now choose will give the opportunity to our managers to work and involve new young guys in professional sports, etc. Of course, the task is to reach good results. I want to say thank you to the head of the republic and to Valery for their constructive work. I am confident that everything will be interesting and successful.
Taimuraz Mamsurov, President of the Republic of North Ossetia – Alania
I want to confirm that the project does have clear social nuances. As for our partner,"RusHydro", I would like to reiterate that the company has been working in our republic for nearly 40 years, and it has been one of our largest investors during this time. As for the football club "Alania", I want to say that the purpose was not, as Yevgeny Aleksandrovich said, that the football club matured by itself and reached some results. For us, the football club "Alania"is a team that is the result of a vast array of work that has been carried out for many years in the country, such as junior and professional football teams.The history of our club is bright; in the Soviet period, we played in the major leagues. It was a rare case that the team of an autonomous republic was in the top league of Soviet football. We were the champions of Russia, we were silver winners. It is a known fact that Ossetia has a fairly good, solid school; I ask the people for whom football means a lot to look at all the Premier League teams and the teams of the league just below all over the country; you will see that our guys are everywhere, let alone Alan Dzagoyev, who tried to make our team continue playing at the European level.
As soon as it became known a few days ago that we had such a partner which was very well-known in the republic (RusHydro is a company that is recognizable in NorthOssetia), there were very expansive and good feelings. There is a social effect at vwork here. We are one of the most popular stadiums; We have tens of thousands people coming to every game, and next day they go to work or to school in a good mood and with some enthusiasm. Today, the positive emotions of all these people are also good progress. Therefore, knowing the merit and validity of the company, knowing how it works in its own business and how professionally it solves its problems, I'm looking forward to benefit from our work together. Russian football and all our country will benefit from it.
Valeri Gazzaev, president of the football club Alania
We really should achieve the level of such a serious partner and a major company that is one of the largest companies in Russia. I am very pleased that we have signed such an agreement. Football in general is a collective work; it is not only a football team. This is a huge structure which provides and creates the conditions for the successful performance of the players and the football team as a whole. So, certainly, for us it is a huge responsibility. We should show decent results.I hope that the long-term program we develop and prepare by September 18 aims only to ensure that "Alania", which in 1990 was one of the leading clubs in the Russian championship, will reach this result again. So, naturally, we will fulfil it together with our partners and our republic. We will do our best. To date, we have a very large group of players. Today there are about 18 Ossetian footballers in the premier league alone and 52 players in the first and second leagues of the Russian championship. So, naturally, we really have good opportunities, but today, in view of our partnership, we will do our best to make progress and to show good results.
