The IOC President began to threaten that Russia will take over international sports

The IOC President is concerned – competitors have appeared on his playing field. Yes, we just announced our plans to hold tournaments and just started preparing for them. But a wise leader is obliged to prevent everything in time. He, Bach, of course, is for athletes, for equal rights for everyone, against discrimination and all that. But the fact that Russian athletes, deprived (by him) of international competitions and the Olympic Games, will suddenly perform at major tournaments cannot be allowed. Moreover, the doors to these tournaments have already been declared open to everyone. And this is a threat to the life of the IOC. What if someone comes through those doors and then gets into the habit of walking to the left of the IOC?

If anyone did not pay attention to the recent ban, elegantly called an “urgent request”, sent from the International Biathlon Union to Chinese athletes regarding participation in the club biathlon tournament, then in vain. This was a hint for all sports about “thick circumstances”. The Chinese understood the hint; they will not come to the tournament in Khanty-Mansiysk, despite the fact that club biathlon is in no way subordinate to the IBU.

Now the IOC President himself has demonstrated the desire to put our and Belarusian athletes in a completely dependent position on the International Olympic Committee, which issues recommendations that are deadly for world sports. Thomas Bach decided not to waste time on trifles and immediately addressed all international federations.

Like a scary fairy tale, he told that the current geopolitical situation is extremely complex, which means that the unifying power of sport is more important than ever. And today, “millions of people around the world yearn for the power that will unite us all.” But this mission of the sports movement is being “undermined, not to say attacked, by one government or another.” And the sport’s autonomy is under threat.

It seems like all the “violators” who threaten the safety of the Olympic world get it verbally from Bach. Some want to decide which athletes will be able to participate in which competitions, others want to decide where the competitions will be held.

But Bach especially singles out those others who want to organize their own “political sporting events.” And he makes the conclusion for which the whole speech was started: “the latter in particular will mean the state’s takeover of international sports.” And, if this succeeds, then “the role of international federations and the role of the Olympic movement will become irrelevant.”

“No to capture!” – the only thing Bach misses in his hands is such a poster. And for those who are especially stupid, so that they cannot later say that they did not understand (or misunderstood) the call of the head of the Olympic movement, there follows a fiery appeal, a request-order from the IOC President. We must speak out against politicized sports: “None of us should be involved in any way in such politically motivated sporting events.”

To make it clear what “crimes” Russia is talking about – and who else? – Thomas Bach speaks this time: from June 11 to June 23 next year, Russia is holding the BRICS Games in Kazan. This is before the Olympic Games in Paris 2024. The World Friendship Games will be hosted by Moscow and Yekaterinburg from September 15 to 29, this is after Paris.

Thomas Bach calls the holding of tournaments a politicized sport in which “real world championships will no longer be possible, competitions will only be held between blocs of like-minded political people.” Because of this, sport will not be able to become a unifying force for all humanity. (This is exactly what he is now, the IOC President continues to assert.)

Thomas Bach does not hide his anxiety. Not unexpected, no. He showed it immediately, as soon as Russia started talking about large-scale competitions inviting everyone to them – without any discrimination. Bach became worried already in June of this year, when there were still no specifics about the new competitions at all, and only announcements were made.

But, having heard then about the proposed tournament in Russia, Bach publicly complained that the Russian government was accusing the IOC of “failure to maintain political neutrality” and was itself “trying to organize absolutely politicized sporting competitions.” Bach did not explain why competitions on the territory of the country, with the participation of our athletes and those who will not be dragged in by force, but who will come themselves, have already become “absolutely politicized” in advance. But he dismantled the sport into cubes and blocks. “We will have Games of political bloc A, Games of political bloc B, Games of those who do not want to join anyone. The Olympic Games will simply not be possible under such conditions.” It’s even strange, but he outlined the reality that he himself gave birth to and nurtures.

He did not receive his sight, of course, neither then nor now. Because he was not blind. He played with one goal, pretending that no one sees it, and he himself sends the ball to the second goal too, only it doesn’t hit, but that’s fate. And the same precedent with Chinese biathletes is an indicative warning. He is also a decree: only under Bach can international sport proceed, and it doesn’t matter at all – individual athletes or entire federations.

And the IOC understands perfectly well that competitions at the level of the Friendship Games are something that cannot be allowed, even after the Olympic Games in Paris. Firstly, those punished should stand in the corners, and not perform in good conditions, with good prize money, and even invite everyone who decides to do it. And why all these correspondence comparisons of tournaments? (And it will clearly not be in favor of the IOC, this can already be foreseen.) And in general: what is the point of elite sport in Russia? Money that can flow “in the wrong direction” goes without saying.

With his current call to international federations, Thomas Bach communicated the intentions of the IOC. Russian and Belarusian athletes are deprived of full-fledged Olympic Games, but the Olympic leaders can go for a walk! – we need to prevent serious starts with the participation of leaders on home territory.

What kind of start is this, the World Friendship Games? The idea of ​​the Games is connected with the public demand for non-politicized competitions without discrimination against athletes and without any alliances “for” and “against”. This is what the competition organizers have repeatedly stated. The language may be formal, but the goals are clearly defined.

The organizing committee of the World Friendship Games was headed by the well-known Alexey Sorokin, the former general director of the organizing committee of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He says that the only criterion for selecting participants is winning domestic championships or major international tournaments. “We are waiting for athletes of the highest qualifications. This is not a festival, this is a sport of the highest achievements.”

The goal of the World Games is to “give all athletes from disadvantaged countries the opportunity to compete.” There is a prize fund, moreover: all participants will be provided with free travel and hotel accommodation. “We’re not trying to oppose ourselves to anything,” says Sorokin. – We are a sports tournament with the task of moving away from politicization in sports. These are the Friendship Games. We are not friends against anyone, but we are friends with everyone.”

The prize fund of the World Friendship Games should be 4.6 billion rubles. Moscow will host the bulk of the competition, which will mainly take place at the Luzhniki Stadium. Competitions in athletics, aquatics and judo will be organized in Yekaterinburg.

“If we talk about gold medals, we intend to make them from pure gold,” Thomas Bach probably heard what Sorokin said at the presentation of the competition in the State Duma of the Russian Federation. And the prize money for winning the Friendship Games is planned to be 40 thousand dollars for the champions, for second place – 30 thousand, for third place – 20 thousand.

Of course, in the current situation, no one is pretending that we now don’t care about the Olympic Games. But sitting on the benches of world sports (and without the right to play in the first team) is stupid and criminal, then we will try to get up for generations. And the athletes themselves face today’s realities honestly: only new starts are a chance for them to stay in the ranks. For those who have the Olympic Games behind them, this is an opportunity to make the final push, and this is important. For young people who don’t know what a high-level start is, this is an opportunity to take a step forward.

There cannot yet be exact figures on which athletes from which countries will be able to participate in our Friendship Games and how many there will be. And the organizing committee has no doubt that the attitude towards the Friendship Games will be different. “But those who care about athletes will be enthusiastic about it. Our Games are not about politics, but about sports.”

There is no need to be dreamers – these or any of our other competitions will not immediately rise to the peak of popularity in the world. It takes years for promotion, recognition, so that wariness and mistrust disappear, and the stories of the participants, supported by facts, come to the fore. But our Games will become popular. What will happen to the Olympic Games? Changes in them, of course, will happen, they are already happening. But what kind is not a question of one day or a couple of lines.

And Thomas Bach – what can I say? Not surprised again. Having warned with its appeal about the inadmissibility of performing at “foreign” competitions under the pretext of “capture of sports by the state,” the IOC indicated that they are ready to punish those who disobey. And he will be punished.

…Then my neighbor, a sports fan from an early age, gave me the phrase: “I know three swear words of three letters: IOC, Bach and one more – the most harmless one.” Either I heard it from someone, or I came up with it myself, I didn’t specify, but the reaction to new threats is healthy.