No Excuses

"If he did something wrong, I'll tell him that he did something bad," said Pavel Putintsev. "If he plays like a sack, I'll tell him straight: 'you played like a sack.'" Putintsev is the founder of the only professional football club in Russia for people with Down syndrome, and he was relating his coaching style to the Russian publication Bumaga (full article in Russian here).

It all started when Putintsev was watching a YouTube video about a girl with Down syndrome, Nika Kirillova, who plays football. Down syndrome is not a contraindication for participation in any sort of competition. But, due to the specifics of physical development, such children often have a hard time competing with their neurotypical peers.

The club, "47 in the Game," for neurodivergent children arose not out of altruism, but because the market demanded it. At that time, there was just one similar team in St. Petersburg, and no more than ten in the country. Putintsev recruited his first players in 2020, with the goal of helping children with Down syndrome socialize. But preschool groups often did not gather for classes. The coach was also irritated by the parents' frivolous attitude towards training.

Pavel changed his approach: he stopped training children, set a high bar for player selection, and introduced strict discipline, in order to create a competitive football team that could participate in the World Cup for people with Down syndrome. "Now we position ourselves as a closed professional football club," he said.

Photo credit: Football club "47 in Play" (47 v Igre)

Several years ago, one of the team's current star footballers, 16-year-old Alexander ("Sasha") Zakharov, could not run, jump or handle a ball. He cried at every training session, and because of his excess weight, he was nicknamed "the seal." But he and his family began to pay more attention to their routine, nutrition, and activity. Together with his neurotypical brother, Sasha played ball in the yard. Now he is the team's vice-captain.

Sasha began to excel in football and switched to home schooling. His mother, Olga,vsaid she believes that the team gives him far more than school - in particular, communication with involved adults.  Putintsev's strict methods, she says, have benefited her son - Sasha is learning to be independent.

Pavel's approach differs from another St. Petersburg club for children with Down syndrome - "The Sun at it's Zenith" (Solntse v zenit). In order not to overload its players, the team trains 3-4 times a week for an hour. But for Putintsev's team, training lasts on average two hours. Contracts are signed with parents, specifying what is required both for them and the players, on everything from discipline, to absences and tardiness. Violations can lead to exclusion from the team. And the best players receive a monthly salary and bonuses for winning tournaments.

Alexander Zakharov

In 2024, both 47 in Play teams — the main team and the reserve team — won all the tournaments they participated in. Putintsev said he believes this is the result of his methodology, though many criticize his approach.

The main wave of criticism hit the coach in March of this year. During one game, Putintsev unsuccessfully tried to remove the captain's armband from one of the players. The short brawl, along with other moments from the game, was posted on social media, and parents of neurodivergent children began writing to Putintsev that he should not communicate with people with Down syndrome like that. But Putintsev disagreed. “I always tell everyone: these are ordinary children, and we play football. Without tenderness and hugs. Purely sport, and everything is strict,” he explained.

Collaborations with brands, as well as an adult team for neurotypical football players, help the club remain independent from both parents and the state. Putintsev avoids state support, he said, because of the bureaucracy: he once asked the Russian Football Union to give them old field, but was refused. He admitted that if the funding situation worsens, he will need to look for grants, but he will definitely not make participation on the team a paid affair. "There are parents who understand this, some are angry, they swear at me. I tell them: 'If you don't want come, don't come. You're not paying me."