In the style of the USSR: Baikal-Energy and the Russian team will hold a retro bandy match

This weekend Irkutsk will host a real sports festival. Residents and guests of the city will be able to attend a bandy match in retro style. The confrontation will bring together the Russian team, which will play in the form of the USSR, and Baikal-Energy, whose players will take to the ice in the form of the legendary Lokomotiv of the 1980s. The start of the fight for connoisseurs of Soviet nostalgia is scheduled for December 25 at 13:00. One of the brightest sporting events of the outgoing year in the region is organized by En+ energy holding. The venue will give a special atmosphere to the game – the match will be held at the Trud open stadium, where a complete immersion in the times of the USSR will be prepared for the audience.

Popular in Russia, bandy has a significant fan base in a number of regions of our country. Russia regularly hosts championships and draws of local cups, as well as regional tournaments with a considerable number of amateur and semi-professional teams. In 2020, Irkutsk was even supposed to host the Bandy World Championship. It did not take place due to the pandemic, but thanks to En+, the Russian team is holding December training camps this year, and friendly games with Baikal-Energy as part of these camps are a completely logical step. By the way, in addition to the match, guests will also be able to enjoy an exhibition of retro cars. A thematic photo zone will be installed at the stadium, a buffet will be opened and a field kitchen will be deployed.

“The Energia New Year Games, which became possible thanks to the joint work with the Russian Bandy Federation, are primarily aimed at popularizing the sport. With a retro match, we tried to arouse the maximum possible interest of fans, for whom bandy is a sport with Irkutsk history. We are waiting for the people of Irkutsk and guests of the city on December 25!” Mikhail Khardikov, head of the En+ energy business, said.

A distinctive feature of the sporting event will be the unusual equipment of the players of Baikal-Energy and the Russian national bandy team. Especially for this match, the retro uniform of the design of the USSR national team and Lokomotiv of the 1980s was designed. After the game, fans will be able to purchase a copy of the uniform at the official points of sale of the club. Entrance for spectators to the spectacular match is free.

En+ has been the club’s general sponsor for over 10 years. The team regularly shows high results in Russian and international tournaments. In 2015, the team won the Russian Bandy Cup, confidently beating rivals SKA-Neftyanik in the final with a score of 10:4.

The sports festival at the Trud stadium will be the second retro match organized by Oleg Deripaska’s En+ holding. The first game took place in February 2020. Then, at the Trud stadium, as part of the Super League, Baikal-Energy reincarnated as Sibskana, the previous name of the club, and clashed with the Arkhangelsk Vodnik. Then the event gathered over 7,000 spectators.