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Minister of Sports of Russia Oleg Matytsin visited Vladivostok, where on September 10-13, 2023 on campus The Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) is hosting the VIII Eastern Economic Forum. During the visit, Matytsin met with a correspondent and answered questions about the participation of Russians at the Olympic Games, the change of citizenship by athletes, the fan card and much more.
— Oleg Vasilyevich, the statement of the Speaker of the Accounts Chamber caused a great deal of community resonance and concern. Should we worry too much about the financial capabilities of the department?
— Firstly, thank you to the media for regular dialogue and for always supporting us, sometimes criticizing us, but overall we have built productive relations. This is very important — no matter what happens, understand and be on the same platform. As for the budget, we always need to worry; now there is a very difficult situation associated with the sanctions period and the objective circumstances of our life. And sport does not stand aside, we are going through this together and, unfortunately, are forced to cut and optimize the budget. But none of the federal programs is suffering, we have not changed the indicators and results of Strategy 2030. It is clear that the federal budget will not be able to fully meet the needs of the regions, the needs of the implementation of all projects, and there is no such task. We always understand that we have a joint responsibility with the regions, in terms of sports, a joint responsibility with the federations, and now we have formed a unified strategy for the development of sports. It is necessary to understand the entire investment package of Russian sports, not only the federal and regional budgets, but also the budget generated by bookmaking activities, the budget formed by state corporations and our partners who finance infrastructure work, holding competitions, training and material incentives for athletes, for which I am very grateful to them.
Our task now is to make this transparent, open, and after that to determine the priorities for the development of sports together with federations and regions. This also applies to the construction of infrastructure for both mass and professional sports; each project must undergo an examination. Now we have created a digital platform, we understand what objects exist on the sports map of Russia, what blind spots we need to eliminate in the near and long term, and in this regard we are maintaining a close dialogue with the heads of the constituent entities. The new federal project «Business Sprint» has begun to be actively implemented, we see interest in implementing the public-private partnership mechanism, this is a very good step on the part of the Russian government, it is correctly perceived by the regions. Now we are preparing a proposal for the Presidential Council on Sports for major repairs and reconstruction of a number of facilities, construction of new facilities, and this requires a lot of expertise.
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The main thing is to understand an objective picture of the funds that are allocated for the development of sports from various sources. When we understand the entire budget, then we will make decisions as a federal body, together with federations and regions. Unfortunately, there is a reduction. Whatever the budget, we always consider it insufficient (smiles), but we proceed from a specific historical situation.
— As a specialist, expert and fan , do you still believe in the participation of Russian athletes in the 2024 Olympics? Aren't you annoyed that the question is always put off for the longest time?
— I don’t understand why they pay so much attention to this and make it a priority. Yes, most of the athletes of the Russian team will no longer be able to take part in accordance with the regulations determined by the International Olympic Committee and the federations. This is wrong, this is discrimination and politicization, this is clear to everyone. But objectively, athletes will no longer go there. And our task now is to be in dialogue with the IOC and federations about those athletes who still have the opportunity to go to the Games, and to ensure their participation. But with compliance with at least the minimum requirements and without crossing the red line — signing declarations, condemning the policies of the president and government. We assume and hope that some athletes will take part. In this historical period, this is probably the right step.
But what is more important for us is the formation of our independent system, self-sufficient, I would say, which has a competition system, a system for training athletes, a system for training personnel and infrastructure. We have federal, regional, and business resources, there is understanding on the part of the federations, there are proposals for a new format of competitions, some of them have already been tested — the CIS Games, the International University Sports Festival. There are formalized agreements with our partners within the BRICS and SCO, there are some countries that have signed memorandums with us on the development of sports. There is already experience in holding a summer All-Russian Spartakiad among the strongest, and soon there will be a winter Spartakiad. Therefore, from my point of view, we have created the sustainability of the development of the Russian sports system. We will continue to carefully watch what will happen in the world community, but I don’t see any significant risks for any destructive consequences from these sanctions.
Are you concerned about the number of Russian athletes who have changed their citizenship? Is it true to say that this process has not become and will not become widespread? How do you feel about the fact that a number of radical speakers call such athletes traitors?
— This process has no longer become widespread. Almost only a few members of national teams changed their sports citizenship. This is everyone’s choice; I don’t see any need to fight administratively here. I think it is important to give athletes, coaches, and federations the opportunity to understand and compare what they are losing and what they are gaining. In Russia, in recent years, a very powerful system of social and material support for athletes has been built, and, of course, a person who changes his sports citizenship loses this support. I'm not even talking about the possibility of getting an education and getting a professional job in the field of sports in the future. With a change of sports citizenship, these prospects become more cloudy.
What does an athlete or coach buy? Well, probably some short-term material bonuses. But, you know, it’s like in the famous poem — everyone chooses for themselves. A person chose, and this is his right, and I would not give such assessments as betrayal. Another thing is that a person must understand thanks to whom and what, thanks to what system and government policy he succeeded. How important this is for him and whether these are basic life values is again decided by the person himself. Our task, as a government body, is to formulate the correct information policy so that people understand what their choice will lead to. It is also necessary to ensure a very quick response to changes, the preservation of material and social guarantees, the opportunity to be realized through new competition formats, due to the fact that we are making changes to the unified all-Russian classification, which allows us to receive new categories and titles. The main emphasis is now on creating a powerful competitive environment within Russian sports, which is what distinguished Soviet sports. At that time, the USSR Championship was a platform for showcasing talent and a very powerful incentive to achieve success. The title of champion of the Soviet Union was no less valuable than champion of Europe or the world. Our task is to return to this status and ensure the development of the regions. We now have 89 constituent entities, and the schools in each of them are significant for us, each has pedagogical and educational potential. We just need to raise this fertile layer of Russian sports and further form mechanisms to turn it into a rich harvest, if expressed in agricultural language.
strong>- At the same time, the reverse process is becoming increasingly relevant — legionnaires are receiving Russian passports en masse. Football and hockey are the most indicative in this sense. What do you think about this?
— I am calm about this process if it is natural. If people have earned the right to be a citizen of the Russian Federation due to their sporting successes, their contribution to the development of Russian sports is of great significance, then I have a positive attitude towards this. We recommend that the Ministry of Sports make such decisions. But I would approach this carefully; this should not be a temporary and political situation. I believe that becoming a citizen of such a great country and having the right to play for the national team is a great honor.
— Is it possible a scenario in which a Russian professional Can sport abandon foreign players altogether? Or is this unrealistic within the framework of a globalized world?
— Each sport should prioritize the development of the national authority of this sport, its popularity, and mass appeal. If legionnaires or their number somehow contribute to this, then, probably, it is necessary to determine the number of legionnaires based on this. If it interferes with this, restrains the growth of Russian talents, coaches and athletes, then this number must be limited. Well, without legionnaires at all… Any ban does not lead to anything good, you just need to know when to stop in everything. And there is only one criterion here — the development of Russian sports, the development of the institution of national teams, because an excessive number of foreign players does not lead to the creation of a competitive environment for getting into the national team, and we understand this. It is not the foreign players who play for the national team, the Russians must play for it, and the athlete must be a national product. If we are talking about import substitution, then perhaps this term should be applied conditionally to foreign players? There were a lot of them, we hoped for them, and maybe we need to think about import substitution, give our athletes and coaches the opportunity to present a sports product (smiles).
— The issue with the fan card remains relevant and painful, although the law has been in force for more than a year. Do you see progress in integrating the system and could the law extend its effect not only to football, but also to other sports? For example, to hockey?
— Theoretically, this is possible, I mean the appearance of a fan card at hockey competitions, although this decision should and will be made taking into account the interests of the Russian Hockey Federation and the Continental Hockey League. This process is not easy, I will not hide it. Somewhere, probably, it was painful, somewhere these negative trends were excessively initiated by the fans. There were certain technical difficulties at the first stage, but now they are gone, we don’t see any problems with receiving this card, absolutely everyone is talking about it. Now we see that the number of spectators in stadiums is significantly increasing. In the near future, I think all difficulties will be overcome, and this is one hundred percent not a barrier to attending matches.
— Some Russian sports federations are thinking about moving to Asia, while others have already made such a transition. Don't you think this is a hasty decision?
— Those federations that made this decision were guided by the possibility of maintaining a competitive environment for their sport in the international arena. Of course, there is no need to make such a transition on a massive scale; each sport has its own historical characteristics. Here we need to proceed from what we lose and what we gain. If it is now impossible to develop further without participating in European competitions, then we need to look for a deeper and more formalized partnership with Asia. If this does not give anything, does not strengthen and does not bring anything, but only creates organizational barriers and difficulties, then we must wait and see how everything is implemented.
But I urge all federations not to look for a way out somewhere- then there, beyond the borders of Russia. We have 89 subjects, we have sports schools. As for football, there is a state program. Special thanks to the Russian Football Union, which does a tremendous amount of work with school, student and youth leagues. With such diversity, with hundreds of thousands of people involved, who else do we need? Let's create our own league, a powerful one that people would also want to come to and participate in! This applies not only to football, but to all team sports, all sports in general. We have a colossal resource, we just need to understand it, evaluate it and build systematic work. And we will always be a reliable partner.