Department of Theory and Methodology of Football and Ice Hockey

Information about the department

The Department of Theory and Methodology of Football and Ice Hockey was established on September 1, 2018. The department’s academic staff includes: Valery Borisovich Pokaninov (Head of the Department, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor), Yury Prokofyevich Denisenko (Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor), Evgeny Alexandrovich Sukhachev (Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor), Rafael Vagizovich Fattakhov (Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor), Dmitry Leonidovich Korzun (Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor), Dmitry Evgenyevich Voronin (Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor), Nail Narkisovich Sadykov (Senior Lecturer), Rafael Eduardovich Ilyasov (Senior Lecturer, FIFA referee, FIFA World Cup referee), Dmitry Yuryevich Denisenko (Senior Lecturer), Irina Dmitrievna Vasilyeva (Associate Professor, Master of Sports in Figure Skating), Shamil Rashidovich Enikeev (Senior Lecturer), Vyacheslav Evgenyevich Andreev (Senior Lecturer, Candidate for Master of Sports of Russia in Ice Hockey), Adel Airatovich Fattakhov (Lecturer), and Anna Vladimirovna Romanova (Senior Lecturer, Candidate for Master of Sports of Russia in Figure Skating).

The department serves as the primary academic unit responsible for delivering higher education degree programs at the bachelor’s level in the following fields: sports training in team sports (football, ice hockey) and sports training in acyclic sports (figure skating). Master’s degree program: Theory and Methodology of Athlete Training in Acyclic and Team Sports; postgraduate (doctoral) program – scientific specialty 5.8.5: Theory and Methodology of Sport.

The educational process across these fields of study is delivered by 12 full-time faculty members and 2 external adjunct instructors.

Training sessions are conducted at the University’s modern sports facilities, including the Zilant Ice Palace and the Burevestnik Sports Complex. Students have access to a full-sized football pitch, a gym, a 50-meter swimming pool, a sports hall, a standard ice rink, a wide range of sports equipment, and a digital platform for the systematic planning, organization, and execution of football training.

The department is actively engaged in research. Its primary research focus areas include: managing the training process in youth football, the integrated development of young football players, and innovative technologies in ice hockey and figure skating.

Faculty members and students regularly publish research articles in journals indexed in Scopus, the Higher Attestation Commission (HAC/VAK) list, and the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI/RINTs). They also participate consistently in international and national conferences, congresses, and symposia. Between 2018 and 2023, the department produced 6 educational and methodological manuals, published over 40 articles in HAC-indexed journals and 3 in Scopus-indexed journals, and contributed more than 200 articles to the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI).

Major scientific events organized by the department include the international scientific-practical conference "Modern Football: Current Status, Challenges, Innovations, and Development Prospects" (Kazan, June 2018) and the All-Russian scientific-practical conference (with international participation) titled "Current State of Sports Reserve Training in Football, Ice Hockey, and Figure Skating" (held in Kazan in December 2022, 2023, and 2024).

The research activities of the department’s students are aimed at fostering a culture of academic inquiry and developing their professional self-awareness. Each year, students present their work at meetings of departmental and university-level student research groups, participate in various conferences, and publish their findings in peer-reviewed academic journals.

Kirill Protasov, a master’s student (group 23104M), has been appointed as a methodologist for the "Football at School" project, an initiative of the Russian Football Union.

Several students have received awards for their research work: Gleb Khramenkov and Dmitry Vyakhirev were recognized in the All-Russian "Student Researcher" competition, while Mohammed Diyaddin Binmizian (from the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria) was awarded a third-place diploma at the 11th All-Russian Scientific-Practical Conference for Young Scientists, Postgraduates, Master’s Students, and Undergraduates—an event with international participation focused on "Current Issues in the Theory and Practice of Physical Culture, Sports, and Tourism." The department’s key employer partners include: the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation, the Russian Football Union, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, the Ministry of Sport of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Football Federation of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Ice Hockey Federation of the Republic of Tatarstan, the FC Rubin Academy (Kazan), the FC Neftekhimik Sports School (Nizhnekamsk), the Miras Sports School (Kazan), the Savinovo Sports School (Kazan), the Vakhitovsky District Sports School (Kazan), the Ak Bars Academy named after Yu. I. Moiseev (Kazan), the Ak Bars Olympic Reserve Sports School (Kazan), the Dynamo Sports School (Kazan), the Smena Sports School (Kazan), and the Strela Sports School (Kazan). In collaboration with these partners, the department organizes educational and methodological seminars, round-table discussions, and master classes.

The department’s activities regarding student development, sports, and cultural events are carried out in accordance with the University’s approved work plan.

Each year, the department monitors the socio-cultural needs of its students to foster an environment conducive to creative, intellectual, and cultural engagement. Academic group mentors (curators) regularly track students' academic performance and attendance, and provide support for their participation in various competitions and olympiads. In 2022, senior lecturer Rafael Eduardovich Ilyasov was nominated for the "Effective Mentor" (Curator) award.

Department Achievements:

Over the years, the department has trained more than 410 qualified specialists in football, ice hockey, and figure skating for the physical culture and sports industry. These graduates serve not only the Republic of Tatarstan but also over 40 other regions of the Russian Federation—including Moscow and the Moscow, Leningrad, Samara, Ulyanovsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Penza, Kursk, and Kirov regions; the republics of Udmurtia, Chuvashia, Mari El, Bashkortostan, and Komi; and the Khabarovsk and Perm krais—as well as several foreign countries, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Among them are Gulnaz Tukhvatshina, Head of the Press Service for the Ministry of Sport of the Republic of Tatarstan; Igor Zhernenkov, Head of the "Sport" division at the regional center modeled after the "Sirius" educational center; and several athletes who have played for Russian national teams, including Ilzat Akhmetov (football); Timur Bilyalov, Daniil Zhuravlev, Artemy Knyazev, and Amir Miftakhov (ice hockey); Vladislav Veselov (bandy); and Pavel Golubev (field hockey). Additionally, more than 100 graduates have gone on to become professional athletes, competing for clubs such as FC Rubin (Kazan), PFC CSKA (Moscow), FC Neftekhimik (Nizhnekamsk), and FC KAMAZ (Naberezhnye Chelny); ice hockey clubs Neftekhimik (Nizhnekamsk), Ak Bars (Kazan), Spartak (Moscow), the San Jose Sharks (San Jose), and the Tampa Bay Lightning (Tampa); as well as the Dynamo-Kazan field hockey club.

Fifty-six graduates completed their studies at the University with honors.

The University’s football team earned silver medals in the Russian Higher Education Institutions Championship in 2016, 2018, and 2019, took bronze in 2017, and won the championship in 2021. In the 2023 season, the team secured a bronze-medal finish in the top division of the National Student Football League. Furthermore, 45 students have been awarded the sports rank of "Candidate for Master of Sports of Russia" in football. The ice hockey team is a regular participant in the Russian Student Hockey League (SHL), a silver medalist in the 2016–2017 SHL Championship, and a perennial winner of the SHL in the Republic of Tatarstan.

In 2021, seven students specializing in figure skating became Russian Champions in synchronized skating as members of the "Tatarstan" team. They were awarded the sports title of "Master of Sports of Russia" in figure skating.

The department’s men’s and women’s futsal teams are winners of the Student Football League of the Republic of Tatarstan and have competed in the final stages of the Russian national championship, "Futsal for Universities."