Is Slovan Bratislava out of KHL....or not?

Slovan Bratislava will compete in the next KHL season, starting next September? The question is still without a definite answer, with different news coming from Bratislava and from KHL headquarters in Moscow.

In the last weeks KHL Board asked repeatedly Slovan to provide the necessary financial guarantees for the next season. At the end of April, the managment of Slovan Bratislava stated they had found an investor and that he would pay the debt in full by the end of July at the latest. According to Slovan Vice-President Juraj Široký should have been a Czech investor who was to become the majority owner. He should have helped Slovan paying more than a million dollars to the City of Bratislava to continue playing at the Ondrej Nepela Arena, as well as settling his debts.

Despite the initial declaration and having assured several times the KHL officials  that Slovan will have a new investor, the club has not disclosed any further information since then. According to the Russian newpaper Sport Express, the investor changed his mind because the club funding in KHL is more expensive than he had expected.

So this week KHL released a short statement about the situation saying the Slovak club still does not have secured funding for next season:

"The league was in contact with Slovan about the club's participation in the next KHL season. Club Vice President Juraj Široký has repeatedly assured the league that an investor will be found and the team will be able to continue to play in the KHL, but this did not happen. At the same time, the former sponsors were ready to continue financing the team, but not to cover the debts of the club due to ineffective management. The debts created by the club’s management are also a stumbling block for new investors. To date, the club does not have the finances to participate in the KHL Championship season 2019-2020. The League consults with all participants in the process to solve the existing problem.The calendar of the new season is made up in two versions - with Slovan and without."

Earlier in March, after the end of the season, KHL President Dmitri Chernyshenko said the League are "not satisfied with the situation of Slovan" , but that "despite the existing strategy and the difficult state of some clubs, the KHL decided to allow all 25 teams to participate in the next season.“The Board of Directors considered that the exclusion of clubs, which are located at the extreme points of the KHL geography, may adversely affect the formation of divisions and the further development of the league.As a result, it was entrusted to create a working group that will study the structure of the divisions when expanding geography, ”says Chernyshenko in an official statement

"I think Slovan’s departure won't be a catastrophe  - commented former coach Vladimir Plyuschev at championat.com -  for the last two or three years, the club has been constantly facing financial problems, you can’t allow Slovan in the KHL just because this team has rich traditions."

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