Putin wanted to rub the noses of Western activists in the face, but his plan failed. Cancels the event
Russia has officially postponed the World Friendship Games indefinitely. This was supposed to be Putin’s response to the exclusion of Russian athletes.
Due to the full-scale invasion of Putin’s troops in Ukraine, most sports organizations decided to exclude athletes from Russia from their ranks. The Kremlin then decided to demonstrate strength and organize its own sports games.
Vladimir Putin’s Games canceled
The World Friendship Games were supposed to refer to the Friendship-84 sports festival organized in 1984 by the USSR. At that time, it was an alternative to the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, boycotted by the Soviet Union.
The idea of creating our own games was, of course, met with immediate criticism from the International Olympic Committee. The Russians were accused of having no sporting, but political, motivation for their event. The IOC threatened athletes with sanctions for possibly participating in Putin’s event. He added that it constitutes a “gross violation of the Olympic Charter.”
Russia wanted to organize its own games
The World Friendship Games were to be held in Moscow and Yekaterinburg in September 2024 during the summer, with the winter edition in Sochi in 2026. In July this year, the International Friendship Association (IFA), which organizes the event, suggested that the competition be postponed until 2025. This postulate was explained by “insufficient time for athletes to prepare.”
This information was confirmed by the president of the Russian Weightlifting Federation, Maksim Agapitov. He talked about organizational and logistical difficulties. Now, Vladimir Putin’s decree states that the games will be postponed indefinitely.
Will Russians return to world sport?
We recently wrote about the possible return of Russians to international sports competitions in Wprost.pl. In his article, Michał Banasiak emphasized that sports sanctions against Russia, although not perfect, work and are painful. A handful of Russian athletes registered at the Paris Olympics under a pastel green, neutral flag. Russian footballers play image-humiliating matches against rivals from the bottom of the FIFA rankings. Organizing your own, supposedly competitive events ends in farce.
However, the Russians do not stop trying to return to competition at world tournaments. The former deputy prime minister of Russia manages world chess. An oligarch close to Vladimir Putin was trying to rule the fencing industry. One of the candidates for the new president of the International Olympic Committee announced that he would suspend Russia if he won the elections. Is world sport facing the return of Russians?
