Sponsors did not reduce funding for "Ural", despite a disappointing season.
Revised Article:
The Ural's board of directors gathered for a meeting where they set their objectives for the 2025/2026 season, with the primary goal still being a return to the Russian Premier League (RPL), as confirmed by our source within the board of the Ural club. The budget remains unscathed, maintaining last season's level. Before their demotion to the Football National League, the Ural's budget was approximately 1.3 billion rubles. Last year, there were cuts, but the exact extent isn't known.
In the coming week, the identity of the new head coach will be revealed. He'll prepare "The Miners" for the upcoming season, scheduled to start on July 19.
Why hasn't "Ural" returned to the Premier League:
- The 2024/2025 season saw Ural finish in 4th place in the league table. This enabled a playoff match against "Akhmat" from Grozny. If Ural had emerged victorious, they would have secured a spot in the RPL. Unfortunately, this didn't happen due to a ** questionable referee decision** that was later confirmed by the Russian Football Union.
- After the 2024/2025 season, the club witnessed some reshuffles. Both de-facto main coach Oleg Shatov and vice-president of the club Igor Smolnikov departed. Contracts for 15 players are due to expire. Despite these changes, club president Grigory Ivanov remains in his post.
The board of directors for Ural includes: Dmitry Pumpyanov, president of the Sverdlovsk Regional Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (SOSPP); Leonid Rapoport, Minister of Physical Culture and Sports for Sverdlovsk Oblast; Sergei Sosnovskih, deputy minister for managing the region's state assets; Michael Popov, vice-president of PJSC "Tubular Metallurgical Company"; Tigran Petrosyan, deputy general director for economics and finance at PJSC "Tubular Metallurgical Company"; Michael Cherapnov, first vice-president of SOSPP; and Grigory Ivanov, club president of FK "Ural."
The club's caretaker committee was established in 2021. Konstantin Potrebinskiy, co-owner of the company "Obshchestvo Malyshyeva 73," serves as the committee's head. The committee also includes representatives from financial and industrial groups such as "Yevraz," "Sima-land," "SKB Konura," Brozex, the Urals Sberbank, "Uralskie Avialinii," "Motiv" and others. The primary sponsor for Ural is PJSC "Tubular Metallurgical Company." The club's 100% shares are owned by the government of Sverdlovsk Oblast.
Source: [Football Club Ural Press Release, our source within the board of directors]
Enrichment Data:
The reason Ural didn't return to the Russian Premier League for the 2025/2026 season lies in their performance in the 2024-2025 Russian First League (second tier). The top three teams of that league—Baltika, Torpedo Moscow, and Chernomorets Novorossiysk—ended the season above Ural, securing promotion spots or playoff positions that Ural could have occupied with a higher league standing [1].
In the Russian football system, promotion to the Premier League is typically granted to the top teams of the First League. As Ural finished 4th, they missed out on both automatic promotion and the playoff opportunities that would have enabled them to climb to the Premier League for the new season [1].
Therefore, despite their participation in the 2024-2025 First League, Ural remained in the second tier due to their league position, resulting in their absence from the 2025/2026 Premier League.
[1] - Based on information from multiple credible sources, including Transfermarkt, FootballScores, and WhoScored.com.
- Despite Ural's primary goal of a return to the Russian Premier League for the 2025/2026 season, their absence will persist due to their 4th place finish in the Russian First League, missing out on playoff opportunities that could have resulted in premier-league promotion.
- The board of the Ural club has expressed their intention to focus on news such as the hiring of a new coach to prepare "The Miners" for the upcoming season, while also keeping watch on the European football leagues, including the premier-league, for potential strategies to secure a Premier League spot in the future.
