Ride on the Volga: what to expect from the main sports forum in Samara

Traditionally, every autumn in the cities of our country, the forum "Russia — a sports power" takes place. This year it will be held in Samara and will start on November 5th. As usual, it will include a plenary session and a meeting of the Presidential Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports. Both of these events, chaired by the Head of state, are scheduled for November 6. The main topic of the forum will be the development of youth sports and international cooperation. For more information, see the Izvestia article.

The International Arena

A year ago, at the previous forum in Ufa, changes were agreed upon in the leadership of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). During a meeting of the council under the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the participants of the event agreed that the post of head of the organization should be entrusted to the Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Mikhail Degtyarev, allowing him to combine two key sports positions in the country — this has never happened in history.

The goal was to consolidate the management of the industry in the hands of the state in the face of international sanctions and try to break through them. Over the past year, significant progress has been made in this direction — in many sports, Russians have been massively allowed to participate in major competitions, even if they are still in a neutral status.

So, a day before the start of the forum, Russian water polo players were allowed to participate in international tournaments — this is the first time since February 2022 that our team sports were banned. It is possible that from this moment on, there may be positive movements in football, hockey and other game types, which are still the most isolated in terms of participation in official competitions.

— I would like to hope that the case of the water polo players will give the green light to the rest of the "game players," Vyacheslav Koloskov, honorary president of the Russian Football Federation, said in a conversation with Izvestia. — For sure, this positive experience will be discussed in Samara at the council under the head of our state, which, in particular, will be attended by the heads of our federations for gaming sports. And they will analyze how to scale the situation into all game sports and not only sports, so that even more of our athletes will be allowed to participate in international competitions, and then they will be allowed to compete under Russian flags. Obviously, over the past year, the blockade of our sport has gradually begun to break through. And now we need to consolidate these successes, which will surely be discussed at the forum in Samara.

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Football

The Russian Football Union (RFU) will actively work at the forum. She has scheduled a number of sessions dedicated to returning to the international arena, the development of the Russian Cup, as well as the RPL development strategy until 2030, which was recently adopted by the league.

In addition, an analysis of the Football in Schools program, one of the main projects of the RFU over the past five years, will be conducted. The events will be attended by numerous senior officials of the union, including its President Alexander Dyukov and General Secretary Maxim Mitrofanov. In addition, Alexander Alaev, President of the Russian Football League, Roman Babaev, General Director of the CSKA professional football club, and many other managers and functionaries are expected to speak. It is also planned to hold master classes with RFU ambassadors, famous football players Andrei Arshavin, Alexander Mostov, Denis Glushakov, Igor Semshov, Ruslan Pimenov in the recent past.

None of the events officially mentions the topic of a possible tightening of the limit on foreign players, which has been discussed by Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev since the summer. But experts believe that it will not be ignored at the forum in Samara and will be touched upon at a meeting of the council under the President of the Russian Federation. Moreover, in previous years, Vladimir Putin often addressed the issue of regulating the number of foreign football players in our championship at these meetings.

— Since the topic of reducing the number of foreigners in the application of RPL clubs at the match and on the field has become resonant with Degtyarev's suggestion, it is unlikely that it will be avoided, — Vyacheslav Koloskov emphasized. — Moreover, this issue has always been a stumbling block between different interest groups — clubs and leagues, on the one hand, who want as little regulation of the foreign exchange quota as possible, and the RFU and the Ministry of Sports, on the other, since these organizations are more concerned with the interests of the national team and increasing playing practice for young Russian football players. Such disputes often could not be resolved without government intervention. Therefore, it is possible that even now the final certainty will arise after everything is discussed directly with the participation of the president of the country.

Drone racing

The Russia — Sports Power Forum will be held for the 13th time. It was first held in 2009 in Kazan. Since then, it has been hosted by Moscow, Saransk, Yakutsk, Cheboksary, the Dobrograd sports resort in the Vladimir Region, Ulyanovsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan once again, as well as Kemerovo, Perm and Ufa.

This year in Samara, the main part of the events will be held at the Solidarity Arena stadium, the venue for the 2018 FIFA World Cup matches. There are many platforms and stands of various organizations inside the facility. And on November 14, the Russian Drone Racing Cup started in the stadium bowl — perhaps the main innovation of this year within the framework of the forum.

"The first days of the tournament show that it has become a true celebration of high—tech sports," Ilya Galaev, president of the Russian Drone Racing Federation, told Izvestia. — We have gathered 61 of the strongest pilots from 14 regions of the country, from experienced champions to young talents such as 14—year-old Arina Kurakova. The competition is incredible, and the entertainment is off the charts, especially in the 200 and 330 class speed disciplines. Most of the Russian national team is here, ready to show unique races at unrealistic speeds. On average, sports quadrocopters reach speeds of 150 km/h, which makes the race very intense.

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According to the head of the federation, on November 5, at least 1.5 thousand spectators are expected at the 330th class team race final.

— The Russian Cup is not just a competition, it is a bridge between sports and innovation, between tradition and the future, — Ilya Galaev noted. — At the Russia — Sports Power forum, we prove that Russia does not just follow global trends, but shapes them by creating new opportunities for young people and technological sports.

National sports

One of the opening events of the forum will be a panel session entitled "The future of national sports: traditions in a modern package." The event is organized by the Committee of National and Non-Olympic Sports (CNNVS of Russia). Its President Boris Grishin will discuss the development of the direction with the Minister of Sports of the Republic of Bashkortostan Ruslan Khabibov, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the State Committee of the Republic of Abkhazia for Youth and Sports Taras Khagba, Minister of Sports of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Denis Petrovsky, Minister of Sports of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Leonid Spiridonov, as well as the presidents of international and national non-Olympic sports federations.

— National sports in Russia are becoming more and more popular now, and we see a tendency to increase the number of people involved, — Boris Grishin, President of the National Olympic Committee of Russia, told Izvestia. — And the best part is that we see this trend among young people. National sports cover an increasing number of subjects, the quality of competitions is improving, the viewer's interest is growing and sports are finding their fans. Our committee will continue to support and develop them by popularizing national sports.

According to the head of the committee, the forum will discuss strategic goals and objectives, as well as ways to make them commercially attractive, but while preserving historical roots and traditions. It is also planned to sign a number of agreements aimed at developing national sports and holding national festivals.

"More than 1 million people in most regions of the Russian Federation regularly practice national sports,— Boris Grishin explained. — We strive to increase this figure. It is important for us to preserve the continuity of generations, traditions and all the good things that were laid down by our ancestors. Mas-wrestling, lapta, gorodki, and the northern all-around are very popular today. And of course, our most important and favorite national sport is sambo. Our national sports abroad are no longer a rarity, and some of them regularly host world and European championships. For example, the World mas-wrestling Championship was held in Mongolia, and the European Championship will be held in Slovakia the other day.

The Russia — Sports Power Forum will be held from November 5 to 7.