The Monchegorsk-Severonickel team has existed since 1957 and has played a number of years in the top Russian bandy league. Now, the club’s proud bandy history has got a serious blow following Norilsk Nickel’s stop in funding.
Club leader Viktor Shokur says to the club’s website that Monchegorsk-Severonickel has no other choice but to withdraw form the top Russian bandy league.
The club has been since its start been dependent on goodwill from Norilsk Nickel’s regional subsidiary Kolskaya GMK. City authorities in Monchegorsk say they will not alone be able to carry the costs of the club, Murman.ru reports.
The Monchegorsk-Severonickel bandy team is unlikely to be the only organisation feeling the financial problems of Norilsk Nickel. As BarentsObserver has reported, the mining company has announced that it is cutting expenses to the bone and that all new projects and activities are stalled. That will hurt both the budgets of the company’s mining towns, as well as the many regional groups supported by the company.
Photo: hc-severonickel.com
