This week, on August 9, Volga Region University football players will compete as part of the Tatarstan national team in the first match of the 10th All-Russian Summer Universiade in Saransk..
Fifteen students from the University of Sports will represent the republic. Five athletes from Kazan Federal University and KNITU-KAI named after Tupolev will also participate, three of whom are current master's students and last year's bachelor's degree graduates from the Department of Football and Hockey Theory and Methodology, UEFA C-license holders.
Furthermore, the student team's coaching staff includes faculty members from the Department of Football and Hockey Theory and Methodology at Volga Region University: Department Head Valery Pokaninov and Senior Lecturer Nail Sadykov.
During the first days of the Universiade, the Tatarstan team will face representatives from the Tambov and Rostov regions, as well as Dagestan. The playoffs and final matches will then take place until August 13. Teams from 16 Russian regions will compete for the title of the strongest student team.
Valery Pokaninov, head coach of the Tatarstan student team, spoke about the football players' preparations for the upcoming tournament. He explained that preparations began back in June, when the coaching staff began reviewing the future candidates' games in the Russian championship, regional and city competitions, and the National Football League.
"For the first time since the Soviet Union, football has been included in the student games program. The Republic of Tatarstan team earned the right to participate thanks to the successful performance of the Volga Region University team in the National Student Football League, finishing fifth in the top division of the Igor Gamula Super League last year, earning 95 rating points. Furthermore, Kazan Federal University and Kazan Aviation Institute also contributed to the region's ranking.
Since the Volga Region University team is the perennial champion of the Tatarstan Student Football League, we were granted the right to form the Tatarstan team. The main criteria were athleticism, motivation, and desire to play for the team, as well as the Universiade regulations, which require a player to have played at least three games in the NSFL or All-Russian Division in the 2025/26 football seasons," emphasized Valery Pokaninov.
He noted that the team, as always, has the maximum goal - to win:
"Other regions have also formed strong teams, so we'll take it one match at a time. Reaching the final tournament is already a high level, but we'll definitely strive for victory."
Text: Adelina Khramova
