MOSCOW, November 15. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommends that National Olympic Committees (NOCs) refuse to participate in the World Friendship Games in Russia, said James McLeod, Director of the IOC NOC Relations Department.
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“Given the growing politicization of world sport, we would like to ask all NOCs to exercise caution in relation to this initiative. Indeed, any participation of NOCs in the World Friendship Games would be contrary not only to the recommendation of the IOC Executive Board of February 25, 2022 regarding international sporting events held in Russia, but also to the collective goal of the Olympic movement — maintaining the independence and autonomy of sport,” McLeod quoted Inside as saying. the Games.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has already stated that Russia categorically disagrees with the IOC’s position regarding Russia. “The letter “M” in the IOC abbreviation does not mean a monopoly on the sports world, and competition formats can be different and outside the context of the committee,” said the press secretary of the Russian President.
The organizing committee of the World Friendship Games was also surprised by such a tough position of the IOC.
“»Our goal was never either confrontation with the IOC or the creation of competitions in opposition to the Olympic movement. For Russian athletes who were excommunicated from major international competitions, the World Games friendship is intended to become the most important sporting event in recent years and provide an opportunity to compete within the framework of a representative international sports forum with the strongest foreign athletes, as well as provide motivation and support for continuing an active professional career,” said the press service of the organizing committee of the competition.
The Games friendship should take place from September 15 to 29, 2024 in Moscow and Yekaterinburg. The prize fund of the Friendship Games should be 4.6 billion rubles. The Olympic sports will include basketball, boxing, athletics, swimming, rhythmic gymnastics and others. Competitions will also be held in beach soccer, sports programming, acrobatic rock and roll and other disciplines.