When a Russian billionaire left his frozen, Arctic fiefdom to buy Chelsea soccer club, he did more than promise a financial bonanza for the premier league side.
He also opened the door for Britain's affluent and increasingly self-confident Russian community to gatecrash London's social elite via the Stamford Bridge ground.
"Every Russian will be trying to watch Chelsea games and I can guarantee Chelsea's revenues will go up," said Sergei Foster, a Chelsea fan for the 17 years he has lived and worked in London.
On Wednesday, Roman Abramovich, 36, agreed to pay ?60 million (US$99.7 million) for the club, which bagged a Champions League qualifying spot this year after finishing the premier league season in fourth place.
It was pocket money for a man whose estimated US$5.7 billion fortune puts him 49th in this year's Forbes survey of the world's richest people.
"For every Russian being the owner of a British football club is a dream. But the fact that a Russian was allowed to buy Chelsea means that a lot of changes are taking place," Foster said. "Brits have begun to allow Russians into Britain to own property and interests. Twenty years ago people saw us as the bad guys.
"It's like when you sign top-class foreign players. You widen your audience and football's main revenues are coming not from attendance but from TV rights," he said. "It'll be positive provided the Russian owner does not interfere with the sport."
The football club, long a trendy meeting place for the affluent inhabitants of the areas that surround its central London home, hopes some of the city's 20,000 expatriate Russians will become regular visitors to the ground.
Natasha Chouvaeva, editor of London's Russian Courier newspaper, said the deal could be designed to boost the controversial oil and aluminum magnate's prestige back home.
"It's a step on a political ladder, an attempt to be involved in mass sport," she said. "Chelsea was one of the clubs that had more Russian supporters ... because of its involvement with Russian players in the past."
"And it's huge for his public relations here," she said. "Last week everyone was asking who [Russian President Vladimir] Putin was. This week it's Abramovich."
There were some quarter of a million Russian speakers from the former Soviet Union living in south-east England, Chouvaeva said.
"There's no real center for the community, like Turkish north London for example," she said. "They like to live everywhere posh -- Belgravia, Chelsea, Ascot.
"The profile of the community is quite different. A new generation of children has been born and grown up and they're very much English with British lifestyles. It's more middle-class and established," she said.
"We used to give advice on how to find a solicitor or jobs, now it's more about how to find property or how to educate your child in a good private school," she explained. "They are no longer the cowboys from the Russia of perestroika."
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care