From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match26 Dec 2026
Fakel cannot stop winning
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
510% of the income goes out in wages at Fakel
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Match26 Dec 2026
Fakel get the job done against Ural
A 1-0 win over Ural, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad28 Dec 2026
2 goals and a season average of 7.21. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Nuri Abdokov asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match19 Dec 2026
A 2-0 win over Torpedo Moscow, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad21 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Igor Obukhov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market21 Dec 2026
The name of Merabi Uridia keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Fakel say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad14 Dec 2026
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match12 Dec 2026
Shinnik made Fakel work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Nuri Abdokov gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match7 Dec 2026
Fakel are in among the leaders
Position 2 and 34 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Match5 Dec 2026
Fakel come up short against Volga
Volga left with the points after a 0-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Belajdi Pusi gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
Nobody left the Fakel dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Belajdi Pusi named player of the month
The award goes to Belajdi Pusi, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Fakel, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match28 Nov 2026
Fakel make it 4 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Fakel have 4 straight wins of it.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 654% of everything Fakel earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Match28 Nov 2026
A 1-0 win over SKA Khabarovsk, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Merabi Uridia is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.20 with 2 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market30 Nov 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Fakel know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match18 Nov 2026
Cup progress for Fakel
A 2-1 win over Neftekhimik, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Squad23 Nov 2026
Axel Gnapi Dable: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Fakel have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match21 Nov 2026
Fakel make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Fakel have 3 straight wins of it.
Match21 Nov 2026
Chernomorets made Fakel work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad23 Nov 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match14 Nov 2026
Fakel get the job done against Ufa
A 2-0 win over Ufa, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Nuri Abdokov gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch16 Nov 2026
11 appearances away from home and 8 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Market16 Nov 2026
The Belajdi Pusi talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Fakel know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Merabi Uridia wants a proper job in this side
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Merabi Uridia has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Fakel know, and have known for weeks.
The terraces16 Nov 2026
The press cannot get enough of Belajdi Pusi
Praise is not points and never has been. It is, however, the fastest way for a valuation to move, and everybody in the game reads the same pages.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match9 Nov 2026
Fakel are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 25 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Match7 Nov 2026
No end in sight to Fakel's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Fakel has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Igor Yurganov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Loan watch9 Nov 2026
10 appearances at Chelyabinsk and the goals keep coming. Fakel are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Match7 Nov 2026
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Chaika defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Nuri Abdokov knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Fakel, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match31 Oct 2026
Rotor take the points off Fakel
Beaten 1-2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages eat 654% of everything Fakel earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market2 Nov 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Fakel know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
9 appearances at Chelyabinsk and the goals keep coming. Fakel are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Igor Yurganov asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Maxim Turischev
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match24 Oct 2026
Honours even between Fakel and KAMAZ
1-1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Market26 Oct 2026
The name of Merabi Uridia keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Fakel say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match17 Oct 2026
Arsenal Tula left with the points after a 1-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad19 Oct 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match12 Oct 2026
Fakel up to position 2
23 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Igor Obukhov: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Fakel have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match10 Oct 2026
Still nobody has beaten Fakel
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Match10 Oct 2026
Fakel get the job done against Sokol
A 1-0 win over Sokol, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad12 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Nuri Abdokov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Fakel, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad5 Oct 2026
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Daniil Frolkin: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match30 Sep 2026
Cup progress for Fakel
A 0-0 win over Avangard, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 1182% of everything Fakel earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Match3 Oct 2026
A 2-0 win over Neftekhimik, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad5 Oct 2026
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Fakel have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Market5 Oct 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Fakel know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market5 Oct 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match26 Sep 2026
Spartak Kostroma made Fakel work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Daniel Farías
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Leon Sabua finally opens his account
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Fakel have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Market28 Sep 2026
The name of Merabi Uridia keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Fakel say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad28 Sep 2026
At 39 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching from the bench. Places at Fakel are won quietly and lost loudly.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Nuri Abdokov knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Fakel, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match19 Sep 2026
Chelyabinsk made Fakel work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market21 Sep 2026
The Belajdi Pusi talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Fakel know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A new face in his position, and Ignacio Irañeta suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Fakel have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Nuri Abdokov asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market21 Sep 2026
The window shut and Ilnur Alshin is still in the building
Fakel spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Sep 2026
Alania come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Fakel did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match12 Sep 2026
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Yenisey defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Market14 Sep 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Fakel know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Ignacio Irañeta wants a proper job in this side
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Ignacio Irañeta has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Fakel know, and have known for weeks.
Loan watch14 Sep 2026
5 appearances away from home and 3 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Sep 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fakel can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
1008% of the income goes out in wages at Fakel
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Match5 Sep 2026
A bad afternoon for Fakel against Rodina
0-1 to Rodina, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market7 Sep 2026
Fakel have made Yury Zhuravlev available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Maxim Turischev asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad31 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Ignacio Irañeta
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match29 Aug 2026
Fakel and Ural cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Ural came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fakel can pretend not to have heard.
Match22 Aug 2026
Torpedo Moscow made Fakel work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad24 Aug 2026
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Fakel have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Squad24 Aug 2026
At 33 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching from the bench. Places at Fakel are won quietly and lost loudly.
Market24 Aug 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Alexandr Belyaev may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad17 Aug 2026
Belajdi Pusi gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match15 Aug 2026
Three points for Fakel, 1-0 the final word against Shinnik in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Market17 Aug 2026
Experience through the door at Fakel
Ignacio Irañeta arrives at 39 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Squad17 Aug 2026
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Fakel have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A new face in his position, and Nikolay Giorgobiani suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Fakel have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Market17 Aug 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Fakel know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
Ilnur Alshin gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match8 Aug 2026
Fakel come up short against Volga
Volga left with the points after a 0-1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
Nobody left the Fakel dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Market10 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Market10 Aug 2026
Fakel have made Ilnur Alshin available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Market10 Aug 2026
The name of Nikolay Giorgobiani keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Fakel say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ilnur Alshin and Fakel agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match1 Aug 2026
Three points for Fakel, 2-0 the final word against SKA Khabarovsk in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Market3 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Belajdi Pusi finally opens his account
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Fakel have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Squad3 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Kirill Simonov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market3 Aug 2026
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Fakel has been clear about where Vladislav Kalinichev stands, which is more than many ever get.
Market3 Aug 2026
36 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Squad3 Aug 2026
It is a strip of cloth and it decides nothing on a Saturday. It still tells the dressing room exactly whose opinion the manager values, which is the whole point of it.
Market3 Aug 2026
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Darko Todorović leaves Fakel the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.