He suggested that the money would come from federal and regional governments, as well as from private investors.

But the lower league clubs are not convinced they will have enough funds to meet the new requirements.

“They were told to expect [financial] help, but no details were given,” said Russian sports expert Dmitry Navosha, director general of sport.ru web portal.

“Absolutely all Russian football clubs are loss-making, thus they have to get money from regional budgets and companies,” he told the BBC’s Russia Business Report.

As even top Russian clubs still make little money from television rights sold both in Russia and abroad, most of them are thought to operate with a deficit of at least several million dollars.

Football clubs in Russia tend to keep their budgets secret. CSKA Moscow, the 2005 Uefa Cup winner, has been one of the exceptions.

It announced last spring that its 2010 budget would reach $64m, with a profit of $168,000.

Zenit St Petersburg, the 2010 Russian Premier League champion, has been rumoured to have a budget of up to $100m.

Split funding Lower league clubs can only dream of these figures. The modest funds they get to spend are usually set by the budget of a city, region or company.

Sometimes the money they have at their disposal is barely enough to survive, let alone allow for any investment in modernising their stadiums.

But there is another – hidden – problem in the new “autumn-to-spring” model.