The Russian Federation does not consider the Friendship Games an alternative to other competitions – Kommersant

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said that the Russian Federation does not position the e-sports tournament “Games of the Future,” as well as the BRICS and Friendship Games as an alternative to other competitions.

“The first global project will be the Games of the Future in Kazan. The BRICS Games in an open format will be held in Kazan in June, and the final big project in Russia will be the Friendship Games. We do not consider and have never positioned any one, nor a second, nor a third event as some kind of alternative to anything,” the minister said on the Rossiya-24 channel (quoted from TASS).

Mr. Matytsin emphasized that the above-mentioned projects are independent and are aimed at creating a competitive environment in Russia and ensuring the participation of Russian athletes in international competitions.

On November 15, the International Olympic Committee recommended that national Olympic committees not take part in the World Friendship Games in Russia. According to the IOC, the abandonment of Russian sporting events is necessary to “preserve the independence and autonomy of sport.” The Kremlin said that the IOC does not have a monopoly on the sports world, so anyone can organize sports competitions.

In March 2022, the IOC recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be allowed to participate in international competitions, but a year later they allowed them to participate in a neutral status. After the annexation of new regions to the territory of Russia, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee for an indefinite period. On November 6, the Court of Arbitration for Sport accepted the national committee’s appeal against the IOC decision.

Erdni Kagaltynov