By Stefan Djordjevic/ sdjordjevic@eurohoops.net
Khimki Moscow Region had a very tough 2020-21 campaign on both the domestic and the European fronts but also on the financial aspect of the club.
The team was dead last in EuroLeague this season with a 4-30 record while their run in the VTB League ended in the quarterfinals where Lokomotiv Kuban swept them 2-0 in the series.
On top of that, and most certainly in some part due to that, the club has been experiencing financial issues and has even been banned by EuroLeague from registering players in early March this year. It was reported that Khimki had nearly three million euros overdue payables towards its players at that point.
The financial hardship impacted the results without a doubt and forced some heavy changes to the roster, however, the upcoming few months (and beyond) might be even harder for the club.
The Minister of Physical Culture and Sports of the Moscow Region Roman Teryushkov talked to the Russian news agency TASS and noted in the interview that there’s a chance Khimki won’t be participating in the VTB League next season.
“Khimki is a commercial club and its problems are known. We have a complete training system, an Olympic reserve school. If next year there will be no club “Khimki” we are used to in the VTB United League, then we will create in the region and will play – not a United League competition, but one step lower. But in any case, all our athletes who are trained in schools, sports schools will take part in competitions,” the Sports Minister said and added.
“The Moscow region is a basketball region, they love this sport, we have created a system for training a sports reserve, and this is an important story for us. We will definitely not get lost.”