Ex-Portsmouth owner creating history in Champions League after disastrous time at Fratton Park
He was part-owner of Pompey during Convers Sports Initiative’s ill-fated time in charge
His part-ownership of Pompey ended in a spectacular financial collapse, controversy, administration and relegation.
Now Roman Dubov is enjoying unprecedented success at Pafos, who are to embark on their maiden Champions League season with fixtures against Bayern Munich, Juventus, Monaco and Chelsea.
Certainly it has been an incredible journey for the British-based businessman, who became chairman of the Cypriot club in 2017 following Total Sports Investment’s takeover.
The Fratton faithful, of course, may recall Dubov’s involvement with Pompey during the ill-fated ownership of Convers Sports Initiatives, when he served as the club’s president.
The collapse of CSI
However, just five months later, CSI entered administration following the arrest of chairman Antonov in connection with a multi-million pound bank fraud.
Having later fled England while on conditional bail and convicted in his absence, Antonov was jailed for two-and-a-half years by a St Petersburg court in March 2019, after pleading guilty to bank fraud.
Dubov and Akers were not implicated with Antonov’s actions and their reputation was unaffected, nonetheless, CSI’s ownership had imploded.
In December 2011, Dubov resigned his role as an executive director of Pompey, with the club eventually put into administration in February 2012, accompanied by a 10-point deduction, sealing relegation fate.
It meant the Blues were in financial turmoil when they headed to St Mary’s in April 2012 for the last league meeting between the sides, unable to even fill their substitutes’ bench for the south-coast derby.
Nonetheless, David Norris’ iconic stoppage-time strike secured a dramatic 2-2 draw for Michael Appleton’s men, albeit unable to prevent subsequent relegation to League One.
Dubov, who would later claim CSI invested £12m into the Blues during their ill-fated time as Pompey owners, went on to become a board member at Riga FC, and was involved in the Langley Football Academy, based in Norwich.
He has also retained interest in long-running companies Green Golf Balls Europe, Gator Sports, Workforce Bank Limited and, of course, as chief executive of Total Sports Investments.
Thriving at Pafos
Meanwhile, as chairman of Pafos, he is enjoying eye-catching success, stemming from winning the Cyprus Coca Cola Cup in May 2024 after beating holders AC Omonia in the final.
That opened the door for the club’s first foray into European competition, qualifying for the Uefa Europa League before dropping into the Uefa Conference League that same season, where they reached the final 16.
With Spanish head coach Juan Carlos Carcedo at the helm, they went on to win the Cypriot First Division for the first time in Pafos’ history in 2024-25, thereby reaching the Champions League qualification stages.
Entering the second round, they beat Maccabi Tel Aviv, Dynamo Kiev and Red Star Belgrade to qualify for the knock-out stages.
They will now meet Olympiacos, Bayern Munich, Kairat, Villareal, Monaco, Juventus, Chelsea and Sparta Prague in the league phase.
Dubov, who is a Russian businessman born in Hungary, yet a British citizen since 1999, attempted to buy French club St Etienne in November 2021.
Regardless, Pafos, which was founded in 2014, continues to explore new heights in Cyprus and European competition.
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