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Limassol second-tier club gets Russian YouTuber makeover

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Cyprus football continues to draw the attention of foreign investors willing to inject serious cash as second division ENY Digenis Ypsona is added to the list of clubs being taken over.

As announced by the Limassol club, the team is stepping into a new era under Russian investor Yevgeny Savin, a former footballer and YouTuber.

As of the 2022-2023 season, the team will be renamed FC Krasava – ENY Digenis Ypsona, taking the name of a football club Savin started in Russia in 2020.

It is the third Limassol-based club to be taken over by a foreign investor, following topflight Aris Limassol and Karmiotissa FC from Kato Polemidia.

Confirming the deal, Yevgeny Savin took to social media to announce that following the registration of FC Krasava LTD, the company agreed with ENY Digenis Ypsona to purchase the club.

In a post on Instagram, FC Krasava’s big man said it was the first Russian team to move to Cyprus, bringing along its history and mentality.

Although not confirmed, Savin, 38, is said to be worth several million and has been active in Limassol’s community for some years.

Savin retired from professional football in 2015 to become a sports commentator and then went online in 2018 as a YouTube blogger with his channel Krasava.

His YouTube channel has 1.14 million subscribers, while his Instagram page has more than 120,000 followers.

In 2020, he founded a new football team licensed for the 2021–22 season of the Russian third-tier FNL 2 as Krasava. But unfortunately, the club did not renew its license for 2022-2023.

Savin becomes the second Russian investor to get involved with a Limassol team after Dmitriy Punin, who has taken over Karmiotissa FC, boasting a budget of a million plus.

Paphos’ two topflight teams, Pafos FC and Akritas Chlorakas, are also owned by foreign investors. Pafos FC, finishing sixth in the top division last year.

Pafos FC is owned by Russian investors Sergey Lomakin and Roman Dubov. Lithuanian investor Liutauras Varanavičius took over first division newcomers Akritas Chlorakas, reportedly one of his country’s 100 wealthiest people.