The coach's address highlighted the problems with supporting wrestlers in Dagestan.
Support for Dagestani athletes from the Wrestling Federation is uneven, and some are forced to seek sponsorship, experts commented on a statement by Honored Wrestling Coach Magomed Guseinov.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on May 26, Honored Wrestling Coach of Russia Magomed Guseinov from Dagestan addressed Putin in a video message asking for order to be restored within the Russian Wrestling Federation (RWF). According to Guseinov, athletes see "no fair compensation or support, no prize money, no sponsorship from the federation." The coach noted that many athletes go abroad or leave the sport, and when legitimate opportunities to compete in professional leagues arise, they are "hampered and pressured." The coach linked his complaints to Mikhail Mamiashvili, who has headed the federation for many years.
In April 2025, during the awards ceremony at the European Championships in Bratislava, Mikhail Mamiashvili made rude remarks about Chermen Valiev, a wrestler from North Ossetia who competes under the Albanian flag. Valiev said the federation head called him a traitor. In response to the appeal from the "Supreme Council of Ossetians," Mamiashvili admitted that he had overreacted, but noted that he stood by his opinion.
The points voiced in Magomed Guseinov's video message were commented on to the "Caucasian Knot" by two wrestling coaches from two different sports schools in Khasavyurt, who asked not to publish their names, and a Russian sports journalist, who also commented on condition of anonymity.
Only private businessmen are helping
One of the Dagestani coaches agreed with Guseinov's words about the lack of assistance to schools from the FSBR. "Only private businessmen are helping." "The federation hasn't paid for tournament participation for 20 years, and they haven't provided uniforms for many years," he said.
The coach also found the wrestlers' desire to participate in commercial tournaments justified. "Wrestlers don't have large salaries; they need to survive, and these tournaments are a real source of income." But when Abdurashid Sadulaev recently signed a contract with the American RAF network, the federation was very opposed to him going to these tournaments,” he emphasized.
Abdulrashid Sadulaev is an athlete from Dagestan, a two-time Olympic champion in A freestyle wrestler and five-time world champion, he lost the opportunity to compete at the 2025 European Championships in Bratislava due to a visa denial. In January 2026, Sadulaev, who has had virtually no opportunity to compete in major international competitions lately, signed a contract with the American professional series RAF (Real American Freestyle), Championship reported on January 16. For Sadulaev, this is an opportunity to compete "at least somewhere outside the country," but Mikheil Mamiashvili "reacted sharply to this decision," the publication writes.
According to another coach, the situation is not as dire as Magomed Guseinov described it. "There's support and equipment—very good, by the way. Yes, the prize money is small, but that's not just a problem for wrestlers; it's not very big in boxing either," he noted.
The coach believes the Wrestling Federation didn't object to athletes participating in tournaments abroad. "It's just that recently, when Sadulaev signed the contract, Mamiashvili spoke out about it, and it became a topic of conversation. But before that, there were competitions in Iran and Germany, and there were no issues," he stated.
Some wrestlers are treated specially.
For his part, the sports journalist noted that Magomed Guseinov "said little that was new." "It's striking that some wrestlers are given special treatment, being selected for tournaments regardless of their actual results, pushing aside those who could have qualified based on their results. Perhaps the Wrestling Federation should initiate a reform that would allow two representatives of the country to attend tournaments instead of just one, so as not to offend anyone. But so far, this isn't the case," he said.
We see many wrestlers leaving to compete under other flags.
The FSBR doesn't always provide assistance to athletes with training, the journalist emphasized. "For example, [Dagestani wrestler] Akhmed Tazhudinov had to train at his own expense in private schools and walk eight kilometers to classes. But now the Federation is presenting the case as if it had been supporting Tazhudinov from the very beginning. As a result, we see many wrestlers leaving to compete under other flags, including Tazhudinov himself – for Qatar," he stated.
As a reminder, in August 2024, Ramzan Kadyrov announced the awarding of two athletes who won medals at the Paris Olympics. Razambek Zhamalov, who competed for the Uzbek national team, and Islam Dudayev, for the Albanian national team, were both given keys to apartments. Dagestani wrestler Dauren Kuruguliyev, who competed for the Greek national team and won bronze, received an apartment in Derbent. State Duma Deputy Vitaly Milonov announced after the awards ceremony that he would demand an investigation by the Prosecutor General's Office into the matter.
Milonov's reaction was politically motivated, RIA Derbent editor-in-chief Milrad Fatullaev noted at the time, also noting flaws in the Olympic athlete selection system used by the Russian Freestyle Wrestling Federation. "It raises questions as to why some federations and athletes didn't withdraw from the Olympics, while those representing the Caucasus—mainly judo and freestyle wrestling—are completely ignoring the Games," he told the "Caucasian Knot."
Speaking about sports funding in Russia, the journalist noted significant differences in the resources allocated to sports in different regions. He noted that in Dagestan, where conditions are more challenging, athletic achievements are particularly significant. "For us, sports are a social lift and an indicator that a person can realize themselves even in difficult circumstances," Fatullayev said.