The football club Rodina, founded 11 years ago, has secured the right to compete in the MIR Russian Premier League (RPL) next season. With one matchday remaining in the PARI First League season, the team led by Spanish coach Juan Diaz has guaranteed at least second place.
A Billionaire Owner with a Passion for Football
Rodina first appeared on Russia’s football map in 2015, established on the basis of a private football academy that grew out of the “School of the Ball” section. The club was initiated by Russian businessman Sergei Lomakin. Since the late 1990s, Lomakin has been developing retail chains; his main asset is a well-known network of stores with an annual turnover exceeding 300 billion rubles. According to various sources, the personal fortune of the 52-year-old entrepreneur ranges between $1.2 billion and $3.4 billion.
Lomakin’s love for football dates back to his childhood: he earned the rank of Candidate Master of Sports, but a professional career never materialized. By a young age, he had turned to business. Once he accumulated significant personal wealth, he began acquiring football clubs. Besides Rodina, he owns Cypriot club Paphos — from which Juan Carlos Carcedo recently moved to Spartak — and he is also linked to clubs in Latvia, Slovenia, and the UAE.
“I watch a lot of football. Probably too much, because I don’t have enough time for my family. In my childhood, I didn’t get to play enough; I went into business at 16 and never signed a professional contract. So now I’m compensating by watching our football from the sidelines,” Lomakin told Match TV two years ago.
The 2019-20 season was Rodina’s first in professional football. The club climbed through the divisions less rapidly than Krasnodar once did, having to spend extra time in the Second League.