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FISU and Russian Authorities Deny Kazan 2013 Universiade Heading for Bankruptcy over Tax Issue |
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University Sports - 11 Jan 2013 - By Simon Ward
Russia’s state audit chamber and FISU, the international university sports federation, have both denied that this year’s Summer Universiade, the university games, in Kazan are in financial jeopardy following reported tax discrepancies.
The office of deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov, the head of the local organising committee, said that claims that the project was heading for bankruptcy were “far-fetched” and that the tax situation was being resolved.
FISU, for its part, said it had no reason to doubt the commitment of the organisers to staging the games, telling Sportcal that, as far as it was aware, the report was “a fraud” and that “everything is going ahead as planned.”
The Universiade is scheduled to take place from July 6 to 17.
On Thursday, the Russian newspaper Izvestia quoted a letter said to have been sent by Sergei Stepashin, the head of the Russian audit chamber, to prime minister Dmitry Medvedev stating that cash reserves fell short of the tax bill by more than Rbs100 million ($3.3 million).
The newspaper claimed that the games were now approaching bankruptcy.
However, the audit committee played down the issue in a statement, saying: “The report from the audit chamber of the Russian federation simply indicated the necessity of resolving questions in the area of taxation that may arise during the implementation of partnership agreements during the Universiade.”
It added: “Information about the alleged bankruptcy of the Universiade is far-fetched and is a product of the excessive dramatisation of official correspondence. All questions and difficulties that may arise are being resolved in working order. It appears someone wanted to find a sensation where there is none.”
The Kazan 2013 organisers have been proceeding with preparations for the games, announcing this week that tickets would go on sale from this month and that officials, including Ildar Khalikov, the prime minister of Tatarstan, the republic in which the city is located, has inspected the construction of sports venues and that projects were “progressing according to plan.”
Some 1.26 million tickets are available at the games and Kazan is also due to host swimming's 2015 FINA World Championships and a selection of matches when Russia stages soccer’s World Cup in 2018.
In recent times, several FISU events have run into financial difficulty, notably the 2009 Summer Universiade in Belgrade, which was scaled down, with the axing of six optional sports, after the global economic downturn forced the local organising committee to cut its budget by €50 million ($70 million), just one-quarter of the original estimate.
Since then, the 2013 Winter Universiade has been moved to the Italian city of Trentino after the original host, Maribor in Slovenia, failed to meet a series of deadlines to provide guarantees that it would fulfil its financial and operational obligations in organising the event.
There have also been doubts over the 2015 event in Granada, Spain, in light of the financial crisis in the country, but these have assuaged after the local organising committee last month submitted a revised venue plan that will entail a smaller outlay on facilities.
Sportcal |
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