Guus Hiddink will meet with the new president...

While Kapkov was expected to offer a genuine challenge to Fursenko, the majority of experts believe that nothing now stands in the way of his victory in Wednesday"s polls.

Former Spartak player Yevgeny Lovchev suggested to RIA Novosti that Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, both St. Petersburg natives, were strongly in favor of Fursenko.

"We have a vertical power structure and the authorities appoint Petersburg people everywhere," he said. "The president and the prime minster don"t play football, but both understand the significance of the country"s number one sport."

MOSCOW, February 3 (RIA Novosti)