Russia: Nova Novokuybyshevsk withdraw from participating in Superliga and will be replaced by Neftyanik

The Russian volleyball Championship joined the enlarging group of national competitions that had to deal with the withdrawal of one or more clubs.
So, the number of teams that will participate in the next championship will remain the same (14) as in 2019/20 but won’t have the same lineup.
Although there are no promotions nor relegations in the 2020/21 Superliga because the last season ended prematurely due to the coronavirus, one club decided to give up on participating.
Facing financial problems, Nova were forced to withdraw and will play the second division (Vishaya liga A). The Novokuybyshevsk team, who was founded in 1993 and played in the Superliga the last five seasons, took the last place in the 2019/20 regular season with three wins and 16 defeats.

They will be replaced by Neftyanik regardless of the fact that they finished as runners-up in the 2019/20 second division regular season. That’s because the first-placed side, Transgagaz Stavropol, doesn’t have sufficient funding to play in the Superliga.