Mr Ivanov said that the number of foreign basketball players able to take part in the VTB United League championship in the 2015–2016 season remains unchanged. Currently, teams taking part are allowed to have up to six foreign players.
Mr Ivanov said that the number of clubs taking part in the upcoming season’s competition will likewise remain unchanged. There are 16 clubs taking part in the 2014–2015 season’s competition.
Speaking about Russian clubs’ revenues and expenses in general, Mr Ivanov said that Russia’s leading basketball club, CSKA, has considerably increased its budget for this season, mostly through the difference in exchange rates. Mr Ivanov also noted that he opposes the idea of using public funds to finance clubs and said it is regrettable that, unlike foreign clubs, Russian clubs do not make money by selling television rights.
Mr Ivanov announced at the news conference that the VTB United League Cup will be named after Olympic basketball champion Sergei Belov (1944–2013) and said that talks with the sportsman’s family on this matter are nearly complete.
The VTB United League competition was founded in 2008 and brings together leading clubs from Eastern and Northern Europe. The 2014–2015 season is the league’s sixth so far. Competition got underway on October 3, 2014, with teams from 7 countries taking part: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Finland, Czech Republic, and Estonia.