Mutko, who previously led the RFU from April 2005 to November 2009, was the sole candidate for the position following the withdrawal of Government Minister Igor Lebedev in July.

The chair of Russia’s Organising Committee for the 2018 World Cup will serve a one-year term before new elections are held in September 2016 to determine the President for a four-year spell.

"I have been working as the Sports Minister for seven years already," Mutko said, according to Reuters.

"However, given the situation that has occurred within our football, I decided to take up the challenge."

Mutko was forced to step down from his position at the head of the RFU just under six years ago after it was ruled that Government officials with high-end sports federation roles had to quit.

But in July, an exception was made to the rule, allowing Mutko to combine the roles of Sports Minister and RFU President.

He takes over from Nikolai Tolstykh who was sacked in May at a time when the RFU was said to have racked up debts of roughly 1.4 billion rubles (£13.6 million/$20.7 million/€18.6 million).

The 56-year-old is keen to address the debt crisis which the RFU currently finds itself in.

"The most important thing is to pay off the debts that the RFU owes and they are huge," he added.

"I don't want to dramatise the situation, but we are basically on the edge of going bankrupt.

"The first step I will take at the RFU will be to make sure that football is going in the right direction.

"It is not very good when no one understands who and where all the decisions are being taken."

Mutko's election comes at a time when Swiss prosecutors are investigating alleged corruption in the bidding processes for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups with the latter tournament due to be held in Qatar.

Last month, it was confirmed that the number of suspicious incidents the investigation had uncovered reached three figures.

Organisers for both Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 have repeatedly denied the allegations.



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