In Irkutsk, the basketball club Irkut is being revived, 17 players have already started the first training session, and in August the team will begin a training camp. The club is preparing to play in the Russian championship top league, and city authorities have supported its development and plan to allocate 20 million rubles for it next year.

This was reported by the head of the Department of Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Policy of the Irkutsk City Administration, Dmitry Abramovich.
17 basketball players took part in the first training session. A permanent training schedule for the athletes has now been approved, and at the beginning of August the basketball players will undergo their first training camp. “Irkut” is currently preparing to compete in the Major League of the Russian Basketball Championship.
As a reminder, on July 4, at a Duma hearing, following a report by Igor Borisov, Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the Committee on Social Policy and Culture of the Irkutsk City Administration, Irkutsk deputies decided to support the Irkutsk basketball club “Irkut”. Next year, 20 million rubles are planned to be allocated from the city budget for the club’s development.
Previously, financial support for the “Irkut” basketball club was provided by the Government of the Irkutsk Region. But the Government’s agreement on social partnership with OJSC “Irkutskenergo” expired in December 2009, and until spring 2011 “Irkut” existed on funds from private investors. However, these funds proved insufficient, and the team was forced to cease to exist while in 6th place in the Superleague of the Russian Championship.
“If no efforts are made to revive the professional basketball team, this will inevitably lead to the destruction of the youth and student basketball system in Irkutsk, which has been built over the years, the departure of young and talented athletes to other regions, and will also negatively affect the image of our city,” Dmitry Abramovich noted.
Based on materials from the press service of the Irkutsk city administration