Moscow and Yekaterinburg will be the competition locations for the World Friendship Games (WFG) between September 15 and 29 next year. There will be 27 different sports and Russia claims that 10,000 actives from 137 participating countries may be involved.
It is doubtful that so many nations will participate, if they do so they are in violation of International Olympic Committee (IOC) and international sports federations’ recommendations not to compete in Russia.
Unlike the Olympics, Russia attracts a lot of prize money – the equivalent of SEK 500 million. The idea is that the WFG will return every two years – directly after the Summer and Winter Olympics respectively.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach is not unsparing in his criticism of the Russian Games.
— The Russian government accuses us of not being politically neutral. At the same time, the same government is trying to organize a totally politicized sporting event, Bach said, according to Inside the games.
Russian swimming star Yevgenij Rylov, who won double Olympic gold in Tokyo 2021, is one of the Russians who can compete in the World Friendship Games next year. Stock image.”Governments take over sports”
At a forum for international sports federations last week, Bach elaborated on his reasoning:
— The independence of sport is threatened. Divided political forces can in practice take over the role that you have as international federations. Some want to decide which actives can compete in which competitions, others want to decide where the competitions will be held. And some want to stage their own political sporting events, Bach said in his speech, issuing a warning:
— Especially the last means that governments take over international sports. If they succeed in that, your roles and the role of the Olympic Movement will become obsolete.
Keeping track of nations
The IOC says it will keep an eye on nations that intend to participate in the Russian Games.
“For the World Friendship Games not only goes against the February 2022 recommendations not to compete in Russia, but also goes against the Olympic Movement’s shared purpose of maintaining the independence and autonomy of sport,” said James Macleod, IOC Director of Relations with the National Olympic Committees, according to Inside the games.
After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the IOC recommended that its member countries not compete in Russia and that Russian athletes should not be allowed to compete internationally. Some sports have relaxed the restrictions and now allow Russian athletes to compete as neutral actives. The IOC has opened to allow Russians in the Olympics in Paris, as neutral actives.
Important for Russian actives
Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matitsin has said that it does not seek confrontation with the IOC and that the competition does not compete with the Olympics. But he has admitted that they want to determine Russia’s role and position when it comes to building the sport of the future. And the other day, the WFG organizer responded to the IOC’s criticism:
“The World Friendship Games are meant to harmonize with the international sports calendar. And for Russian activists, who have been excluded from major sports events, the World Friendship Games will be the most important sports competition in recent years, giving them the opportunity to face the best possible opposition and provide them with motivation and help to continue their sporting careers,” the WFG organizer said in a statement to Tass.
In addition to the WFG, one month before the Olympics next year, Russia will host the Brics Games (June 12-23) in Kazan. Brics is an organization formed by emerging economies Brazil, India, China, Russia and South Africa in 2009 and now also has Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia as members.