Author: Nika Kratsashvili

One of the main obstacles to the development of sports in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region is the status of the occupied regions of Georgia. Only Russia and a few of its allies recognize the independence of both, Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region, which prevents them from participating in international sporting events. Participation in tournaments in Russia is the most real opportunity for Abkhazian and Ossetian sportsmen to achieve career growth and success.

Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region do not have adequate infrastructure or sufficient funding for holding sporting events. Therefore, athletes often take part in championships in the North Caucasus or in different regions of Russia. Only sportsmen with Russian passports can participate in international tournaments.

The first part of the publication discusses the development of sports in Abkhazia (the second part - the situation in the Tskhinvali region), the challenges it faces, who oversees this direction, Abkhazian-Russian relations in the field of sports and how it is represented at international sports events.

Who Oversees the Direction of Sports in Abkhazia?

The de facto State Committee for Youth and Sports of Abkhazia implements the “state policy” in the field of physical culture and sports, provides organizational, legal and material, and financial support. The Committee organizes and conducts sports events on the territory of Abkhazia, provides training and participation of “national sports teams” in international sports events.

Football

Football is the most popular sport in Abkhazia. In 2013, the de facto Republic held a celebration to mark  100 years since the first football match in Abkhazia. Sportsmen born on the territory of Abkhazia played on behalf of Soviet Georgian football teams. Many of them played in FC Dinamo Tbilisi: Vitaly Daraselia, Avtandil Gogoberidze, Vladimer Margania, Vladimer Barkaia, Giorgi Sichinava, Grigol Tsaava, Temur Ketsbaia, Murtaz Shelia, Gela Inalishvili, Said Tarba, Akhrik Tsveiba, Jemal Gubaz, etc. Today, Jemal Gubaz is the Chairman of the State Committee for Youth and Sports of Abkhazia.

Among the aforementioned players, Vitaly Daraselia (1957-1982) should be highlighted. He was born in Ochamchire and died in a car accident in 1982. Daraselia was a midfielder of FC Dinamo Tbilisi in 1975-1982. He scored a winning goal in the final game of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup against Germany's Carl Zeiss in May 1981. The victory of Tbilisi Dinamo was especially celebrated in Abkhazia. Both, Georgians and Abkhazians, deeply respect Daraselia. Daraselia's grave and memorial are in Ochamchire. In 2020, Ochamchire football veterans founded the Vitaly Daraselia Charitable Foundation, which aims at developing football in Ochamchire.

Vitaly Daraselia's grave in Ochamchire. Source: abkhazinform.com

Premier League

After the war with Georgia, the Premier League was established in Abkhazia in 1994 and the Football Federation of Abkhazia - in 2007. Juma Kvaratskhelia was the Chairman of the Football Federation of Abkhazia in 2017-2020. He was replaced by Tarash Khagba in 2021.

A total of 15 football clubs, including from villages, took part in the first championship of the Premier League. However, due to financial problems the number of clubs was decreasing every year. The cost of the Premier League seasons totals about USD 40,000, and depends on the funding of the de facto local government and other sponsors, which is mostly insufficient. The de facto government of Abkhazia finances the Premier League, as well as the Cup Tournament and the games of the National club. Estimated costs reach USD 115,000 per year.

According to Astamur Adleiba, the founder of FC Dinamo Sokhumi, Abkhazian sport could not survive without Russian money. In 2007-2012 alone, Otar Arshba, a member of the Russian State Duma, funded the establishment of 13 football training centers in Abkhazia. Arshba is from Adjara and spent his childhood in Batumi. Despite certain cases of funding, the financing remains an acute problem. According to Tarash Khagba, government funding is needed for the development of football and stadiums. All stadiums, except for the Dinamo Sokhumi stadium, are in bad condition.

New stadium of FC Dinamo Sokhumi, 2015. Source:  Timer

The 28th Football Championship of Abkhazia began on April 20 and will last till November. A total of eight football clubs take part in the Championship: Sadz (Gantiadi), Gagra (Gagra), Athos (New Athos), Ritsa (Gudauta), Samurzakan (Gali), Shakhtior (Tkvarcheli), Dinamo Sokhumi and Nart. Due to problems with a refereeing board, referees of the Russian Football Union take part in football matches.

Abkhaz Footballers in the Russian Student League

There are over 1,700 footballers aged 8-16 in Abkhazia. In March 2021, Jemal Gubaz announced that the youth football team of Abkhazia will play in the Russian National Student Football League. According to him, this is a good prospect for young footballers as the Abkhazian team “has not gone further than Psou” and “has not participated in official games” for almost 30 years. The Student League was founded in 2011 with the support of the Russian Football Union.

According to Gubaz, playing in the Student League is a solution for Abkhaz footballers, since players under the age of 14-15 used to participate only in the Abkhazian championship and then quit the sport as there was no prospects. Henceforth, players under the age of 20 will be able to continue their careers in Russia under the guidance of Russian coaches and participate in the Russian championship.

Friendly Matches

Abkhazia has repeatedly hosted a team of the unrecognized republic of Donetsk. The first match against the Donetsk team was held in 2015. The game between these two was interrupted due to a power outage in September 2020. Amid the increased cryptocurrency mining in Abkhazia, the power outage was mockingly linked to the opening of a cryptocurrency farm near the stadium.

CONIFA

From international tournaments, the Abkhazian team participates only in the CONIFA Cup. CONIFA, the Confederation of Independent Football Associations, was founded in 2013 and unites all football associations outside FIFA. CONIFA is not an official tournament and it is mainly attended by representatives of unrecognized regions. Its first championship was held in 2014 in Ostersund, Sweden. According to the CONIFA constitution, it is a non-profit organization registered in Sweden. It has about 60 members worldwide.

CONIFA logo. Source: CONIFA FB

The Abkhazian football club took the 8th place at the 2014 CONIFA World Cup, it became the winner of the 2016 tournament, and won the bronze medal in 2019. The CONIFA tournament was not held in 2020 due to the pandemic; however, Abkhazia was not eligible to participate in the tournament in 2020 since it missed friendly matches in 2019 due to financial problems.

Abkhaz and Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh teams at the CONIFA Championship, 2019. Source: CONIFA

The 2021 CONIFA Championship was to be held in Nice, France, on July 7-17, instead of June 9-19, and the “national teams” of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region, along with other ten teams, were to take part in it. Abkhazia was to play against Sapmi (Lapland) and the Székely Land (Romania) in Group B, while the Tskhinvali region was to play against Karabakh and Cornwall (England) in Group C. However, due to the pandemic-related restrictions, the championship was postponed indefinitely and a new date will not be announced at least until August.

It should be noted that at the request of Georgia, Abkhaz players were not allowed to participate in the 2015 CONIFA tournament in Hungary. However, during the 2018 tournament, the British side responded to the protest of Georgia that the championship was of a commercial nature and the state was not involved in it.

In addition to CONIFA, Abkhaz football players participate in various Russian championships and football festivals. Abkhaz sportsmen with Russian passports manage to participate in international tournaments.

Gazprom - the Academy of FC Zenit

The St. Petersburg football club Zenit, which is owned and financed by the Russian state company Gazprom, has special ties with Abkhazia. On March 19-31, 2021, players of the club's youth academy visited Abkhazia for training. On March 27, 2021, the club opened its branches in Sokhumi and New Athos where children at the age of 6-13 will train. Outstanding footballers will play in Zenit. With the support of the club, 27 Abkhaz coaches were trained in 2020.

Opening of the Zenit branch in Sokhumi, 2021. Source: Sputnik Abkhazia

Other Sports in Abkhazia

Although football is considered to be the number one sport in Abkhazia, there are other sports worth mentioning: basketball, boxing, and wrestling.

Basketball

Stanislav Sushchenko, who died in 2019, is considered to be the “founder” of basketball in Abkhazia. Sushchenko has worked as a basketball coach for over 40 years and was especially active in the 1970s and 1990s. After the war with Georgia, sports in Abkhazia had no access not only to international, but also to Russian sports events. Nevertheless, Sushchenko's teams still participated in tournaments in southern Russia.

The de facto President of Abkhazia, Sergei Bagapsh, during whose “presidency” Russia recognized the independence of Abkhazia, played basketball in his youth. On August 26, 2020, on the day of Russia's recognition of Abkhazia's independence, the State Committee for Youth and Sports organized the international basketball tournament Cup in memory of Bagapsh.

Boxing

Abkhazians often participate in boxing tournaments in Russia. The best athletes compete on behalf of Russia in the European and World Championships. Recently, in March 2021, two Abkhaz students from the Kuban University became the winners of the all-Russian competition in Chechnya. Khariton Agrba, a silver medal winner at the European Games and Russian champion, won the champion title of the World Boxing Association (WBA) at a professional boxing evening in Moscow in March 2021. In April, Sair Kacharava won the Russian boxing championship between the age of 15-16 years old and won the right to participate in the European Championship.

Wrestling

Wrestling is also popular in Abkhazia. Abkhaz wrestlers often participate in Russian championships. For example, Marat Kokoskeria, a trainee at CSKA Moscow sports club, became the winner of the Central Federal District Championship in freestyle wrestling among juniors in March 2021. In the same month, Daniel Jopua, another Abkhaz who trained at CSKA, became a silver medalist at the Russian freestyle wrestling championship among young men under 18 and was selected for the European championship.

Soviet Sports Infrastructure

Existing infrastructure in Abkhazia was used to train sportsmen during the Soviet period. Recently, Russia has shown special interest in rowing. The Rechkh rowing base infrastructure in the Gali district was used for the training of the Soviet team. Here, sportsmen trained in kayaking several times a year before the European, World and Olympic Games. Soviet championships were also held here. Sportsmen can train at the Rechkh base during the winter as well, while in Russia there is only one lake that does not freeze in winter. Representatives of the Russian Ministry of Sports, interested in restoring the base which was destroyed after the war in 1992-1993, visited Gali in February 2021.

St. Petersburg rowers training in Abkhazia. Source: Nadezhda Kostileva, Sputnik Abkhazia

It is also worth noting that a month after the visit, in March, a 12-member canoe slalom team arrived from St. Petersburg to hone their skills on the Bzip River in the Gagra region. This indicates that Abkhazia, due to its geographical location and climatic conditions, is considered one of the places for preparing Russian athletes for tournaments.