The head of the Ministry of Sports expects the ROC status to be restored soon
Mikhail Degtyarev, Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation and head of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), expressed hope on Tuesday, August 5, that the ROC's status would be restored soon.
Degtyarev stressed that he tries not to miss the most important competitions and, above all, follows those sports that were led by such energetic young businessmen as swimmer Dmitry Mazepin, track and field athlete Peter Fradkov, united gymnast Oleg Belozerov and Alexander Vinokurov, who led the Russian Weightlifting Federation. He shared that at the last European Junior Championships in this sport, Russian athletes collected many medals. He also stressed that the current generation of weightlifters from the Russian Federation, who are embarking on a special training program for 2028 and 2032, will shine at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles and Brisbane.
The minister also stressed that after his appointment as head of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation, he said that it was impossible to advance without competition, that any alternative tournaments to the Olympics were a dead end. He stressed that nothing can replace the Olympic Games and the World Championships, but called it a good initiative, including hosting the BRICS Games, the SCO Games and the Games of the CIS countries.
"And the new formats that we have given the world — phygital movement, the Games of the future - everything is great with them. The World Championships have no alternative for the same swimmers. Such competitions have a different atmosphere, a different geography, and different emotions. It was clear from the swordsmen that sometimes they simply couldn't stand the pressure and didn't have time to prepare properly. Hence the lost medals. We need to constantly compete at a high level — then there will be more medals," Degtyarev added.
He also noted that, formally, the results of the championship for Russian fencers were the worst in terms of medals in the last 25 years. At the same time, as he noted, it demonstrated the availability of reserves and groundwork for the future. He stressed that in the near future, Russian athletes will win more and more medals.
The minister also urged not to forget about the provocations from the Ukrainian side during the championship. According to him, such unsportsmanlike behavior also increases nervousness. Degtyarev clarified that athletes from the Russian Federation responded to the relevant provocations with athletic behavior.
"We are ready to compete with everyone. And we are always ready to shake the opponent's hand after the fight. Because it's a sport. It should unite people, serve as a bridge between peoples and countries, even in conflict situations," the head of the Ministry of Sports emphasized.
In particular, Degtyarev noted that he had taken political responsibility for the course of Russia's return to world sport, and stressed that problems arose with responsibility in sports management. He commented on this with the words: "Like orders— there is a queue, and silence is a difficult decision to make."
"I'm still under a lot of pressure. But the position had to be taken, defended and held until it stopped. <...> about the return of the full-fledged status of Russian sports in the international system. We're in the middle of the road. I believe that two or three more years of isolation could have led to catastrophic losses. This includes a possible decrease in the influx of children to youth schools, a drop in results, and a total demotivation of elite professional athletes," Degtyarev said.
He added that the world federations and other countries have different attitudes towards athletes from the Russian Federation, but this will not affect the course of the country. At the same time, Degtyarev noted that the leaders did not always take his side or the side of athletes who decided to go to international competitions.
He clarified that for some sports officials, sanctions and isolation have become a convenient excuse for their inaction, since in order to return, it is necessary to meet with partners, resolve the legal side of the issue, protect the rights of athletes, apply for a flight project, including sometimes through third countries, and show the result. According to him, everything is fine at the moment — the work continues as a whole after 13 months.
The minister also noted that winter sports federations, unlike summer ones, refuse admission to Russian athletes because of the geographical context. According to him, the winter federations traditionally have a strong Western European and Scandinavian lobby.
"Look, the International Luge Federation has a president (Einars Fogelis. — Ed. — Latvian. At the June congress, the leadership behaved absolutely incorrectly. Even the IOC frankly admitted to me that what the luge team had done was an outrage. Even in a neutral status, our athletes were not allowed in," he clarified.
In addition, Degtyarev announced the start of the trial at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and noted the high chances of winning. According to him, luge skiers can take part in the Olympic Games. He expressed confidence that this would happen to anyone who hinders the return of Russian athletes to the world stage. Degtyarev noted that all will be sued.
In particular, he clarified that the Olympic Charter opposes the transfer of conflicts to sports. Degtyarev called on the sports arena to prove who is stronger. He called the current situation unfair competition, since athletes from other countries take away Russian medals, fake champions are produced as part of the competition, since there cannot be a good champion in winter sports without rivalry with Russian leaders.
"In general, winter sports are still difficult. <...> We are waiting for the executive Committee of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, and then for the ski sports. We are in correspondence with them, with President Johan Elias, and we have contact. It's not easy there, there are different currents within the ski world. This is the case in many federations," he said.
The Sports Minister noted that he often maintains contact with the heads of international organizations, both with foreigners and with Russians. According to him, he knew someone before, met someone in recent months, and so far he has only been able to talk to someone on the phone.
"My observation is that when you build a relationship from scratch, it helps the cause. No burrs, no old claims, no hard feelings. Someone once did not support someone, and someone supported the wrong person, promised and did not do it. Someone actually dumped someone. It all affected the reputation of Russian sports. A new minister, new presidents of our federations — this has a positive effect on the international level. And at the internal level, all management relationships will be brought to a normal linear management model. This will increase responsibility," he added.
In addition, Degtyarev noted that work is currently underway to ensure the presence of more Russian athletes in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, but urged not to hope for a fantastic breakthrough. According to him, the Olympic selection has already begun, and the Russian Federation does not have time to physically break into some disciplines. At the same time, he expressed the need to prepare for Los Angeles in 2028 and noted that everything should be in order at the Olympics.
Degtyarev also recalled that the entire sports world had high expectations for the election of Kirsty Coventry to the post of president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He noted that she immediately gave the command to transfer the Russian dossier to the legal commission for making recommendations to the nearest executive committee, which will be held in September. At the same time, he stressed that following the review, the IOC should have only one decision — to restore the ROC, which was deprived of recognition in 2023.
The minister also recalled his business trip to Lausanne and stressed that he had met with dozens of functionaries, including IOC members, federation presidents, directors, and explained to everyone the position of what had been changed in Russia and what the country wanted to receive. He clarified that he was cautiously optimistic about the case.
"The Olympic Charter clearly states that athletes from a country whose national Olympic committee is not recognized cannot compete under the flag of their state. Do whatever you want, but you can't get away from neutral status without restoring OCD. Therefore, this is the starting point for the return of the flag and the anthem. After the restoration of the ROC, legal work is already beginning on the issue of softening the admission criteria, forming a roadmap for returning under its own flag," Degtyarev added, speaking about what the restoration will bring from a practical point of view.
He clarified that there are many forks along the way and called for remembering the formulas of the Olympics in Pyeongchang in 2018 or Tokyo in 2021, when Russian athletes competed under the banner of the Russian Olympic Committee due to sanctions related to the doping crisis. He recalled that the tricolor was then present in the Russian uniform, and noted that it was better than a neutral status. He stressed that for him, as chairman of the ROC, a large space for legal and diplomatic work would open up for Russian athletes after their rights were restored.
At the same time, he clarified that he had not made a reservation in his position and would ask at the next Olympic meeting to rename the position of head from president to chairman because of the awkwardness he was experiencing. He clarified that against the background of traditions in world sports, the charter will stipulate that the term "president" will remain at the international level.
"I've already gotten used to it. But everywhere in our government, the word "chairman" is used with the word "committee". That's right... Yes, I'll continue about recovery. At the same time, an equally important track is developing related to relations with the World Anti-Doping Agency and the status of RUSADA (Russian Anti-Doping Agency.— Ed.), which is in about the same difficult situation as the OCD," the minister shared.
Degtyarev also expressed gratitude to the deputies of the State Duma for adopting amendments to the anti-doping articles of the law on sports. According to him, the dossier had been inactive for 2.5 years, many rejected this topic and referred to toxicity, however, without solving the WADA—RUSADA case in a legal manner, the development of sports is impossible. He stressed that at the moment, the Russian Federation should withdraw from all lawsuits with WADA and deal with the annual fee that has been suspended in Luxembourg, moving to WADA and returning. The minister blamed the EU sanctions for this. At the same time, he clarified that the payment of the anti-doping contribution to UNESCO was successful and also through Luxembourg.
In addition, Degtyarev noted that foreign partners no longer ignore the fact that the charter was changed and new regions disappeared from Tex.
"The documents, as I said, are in the legal commission, being prepared for the IOC Executive Committee. This is a good signal. Under Bach, no one even read anything. Moreover, they spread disinformation: "The ball is on Russia's side." And how can he be on Russia's side when everything has long been brought into line with the Olympic Charter and transferred to Lausanne?! What else can we do, dance the polka? Just in case, I repeat: we do not want any wars with the IOC and international federations. We are an integral part of the international sports movement and we just want to regain our place at the table and the flag, and we are moving towards this. But not through senseless verbal interventions, but through legal ones," he clarified.
Among other things, Degtyarev shared that the Russian Sports Fund will be created from scratch, a structure that will operate with funds equivalent to the budget of a city of millions, tens of billions of rubles. According to him, the fund is currently registered, a CEO has already been appointed, and an account will be opened in a few days and recruitment will begin, with an office in Luzhniki planned for early September.
"It is necessary to equip workplaces, adopt regulatory documentation, including on the Board of trustees. It is impossible to make decisions on the allocation of funds without the Board of Trustees. I will head it in accordance with the law, and it will include respected people — deputies, senators, governors. Vitaly Georgievich Smirnov (Honorary President of the ROC— Ed.) agreed to participate. This is serious work. Therefore, it is not necessary to expect that we will transfer funds to everyone for two quarters before the beginning of November. In the coming week, we will contact the federations and notify everyone how we will pay the payments that rely on the implementation of the ECP (Unified Calendar Plan.— ed.) money," he added.
The Minister of Sports clarified that it would also take time to close the federations to the Sports Training Center and the Reserve Sports Training Center, which would lend a shoulder to the foundation to prepare documents at the start. Degtyarev noted a deliberate move in the regulatory framework to conclude agreements between the foundation— federation or the foundation — league. According to him, the conclusion leads to the receipt of money, and the process itself demonstrates transparency and legal protection of the parties.
"We will close this year on a non-competitive basis, as promised to the federations. As for 2026, I want to send a clear signal to the federations: it is necessary to plan expenses without taking into account funds from the Russian Sports Fund. There will be a grant system and a selection process. It will not work to blackmail the fund, to make noise that we have already included something in the ECP and were counting on the bookmaker's money. In 2025, as a result of the conciliation work, we reached a compromise and a non—competitive distribution, and a whole new chapter was written into the law," he added.
He clarified that there will be no easing or transit flows in 2026. According to him, there will be a competitive basis and a triple system for protecting applications — in the form of assessments by the expert council, organizations subordinate to the Ministry of Sports and approval of grants by the Board of Trustees. Degtyarev also clarified that the flow of decent betting money went to federations and leagues in transit from the Unified Gambling Regulator only in 2023-2024, and sports developed all the previous 100 years without them.
Degtyarev clarified that experts are currently working on how to correctly assess the "specific gravity" of various parameters. He recalled that there are youth sports, mass sports and adaptive sports, primarily taking into account the sports rehabilitation of special operation veterans. Within this framework, there are possible options: mass participation, geography, sports performance, the minister stressed.
"And yes, we should see that every ruble from the fund is spent on athletes and brings "irreparable" benefits to Russian sports. No one needs to be afraid. Everyone knows their bright and dark sides perfectly well. Everyone who is engaged in business — children, investments in the future, will continue to receive funds. Anyone who was doing something unclear can look for money in other places. We have a free country," stressed the head of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation.
Degtyarev also noted that the rating of the international effectiveness of federations already exists, but has not yet been published. It will probably appear towards the end of this year, as he noted. He called those who prepare and compete at the World Championships leaders.
In addition, Degtyarev shared his opinion on the summer events that took place in football.
"Football in my hierarchy as Minister of Sports and chairman of the ROC is one hundred and fiftieth, if we talk about sports in general, about all federations. Football is one fiftieth, if you count only the Olympic sports. Football is one twenty—ninth, since the president of the RFU (Russian Football Union. Alexander Dyukov became a member of the ROC executive committee in my opinion. But football is the first in terms of the number of people involved, plus it is a media genre. He excites tens of millions of fans. The situation with Torpedo and sports refereeing is a symptom of chronic diseases," he added.
He also commented on the situation with Khimki, which had an investor. According to him, the investor invests to make a profit and in this case it smells like a challenge to the state. He expressed the need for law enforcement officers to check everything, as some, according to club employees, had not been paid for months.
Speaking about refereeing, Degtyarev noted the existence of a sports refereeing commission in the ROC, which was headed by Arkady Rotenberg, Deputy Chairman of the ROC, Hero of Labor of Russia. He clarified that a large number of amendments to the legislation have already been prepared, and it is expected to be discussed and introduced more publicly soon. According to him, the course has been set, and the Russian Federation will follow the path of creating a single sports refereeing operator for all gaming and some other types.
According to him, federations, leagues, and clubs will finance the work of referees through the boiler of a single operator, and a single operator will appoint referees for competitions and matches. Transparently, impartially, including using artificial intelligence. He noted that any sports fan will be able to track all this online. He stressed that it was impossible as before, because the fans would not understand. He noted that we have tens of millions of them, and they want to be sure that the games are fair.
"The optimal target is "five in the field, ten in the application." We will only discuss the horizon and the smoothness of the introduction. The clubs have players on multi-year contracts, we will take this into account. But we will sign the order this year to make it easier for the clubs to plan. We won't touch this season. We'll start the next decline smoothly. I often hear about international football tournaments as an argument against limits. Very pleasant conversations. Inspiring. No matter who you talk to from football, everyone is in contact with everyone abroad, a rich past, a great future. Only communication needs to be subordinated to state interests. We can help assemble a great wagon train or a great football embassy, and go ahead. To the headquarters of international federations. In the meantime, we need to give practice to young Russian players," he added, referring to the limit on foreign players.
He called it a good thing that the clubs remembered the existence of a state regulator. According to him, the Russian side is working in the interests of domestic sports and its millions of fans. He clarified that the media team is monitoring this topic, the balance is 90:10. Degtyarev noted that the tightening of the limit would affect a few, but influential ones — agents, some functionaries, and false investors. These are not the people whose opinion we should be guided by, he stressed.
Speaking about the change in the head of the DSP, whose position is currently held by Roman Grishin, Degtyarev noted that some commentators had agreed that the director of the department had become such an important figure that interested parties should be able to contact him even in the dead of night.
"The director of the DSP should sleep at night, and the system should work like clockwork. In order for athletes to receive salaries, equipment, and logistics, night vigils are not needed. So the change took place so that, figuratively speaking, there would be no night calls, but a clear system would appear," the minister added.
Degtyarev called Grishin a very gifted manager and shared that, as a mentor in the framework of the personnel program "Time of Heroes", he chose him solely on professional qualities. According to him, there are enough managers on his "bench" who are not veterans of the special operation, without orders of Courage, who could be appointed to this position. The head of the Ministry of Sports expressed the opinion that he had not missed, and clarified that Grishin would be a good example of a new type of young leader — equidistant from federations and coaching staffs, building relationships with them from scratch, and not focusing on calls, no matter where they come from.
"By the way, when I was introduced to the staff of the ministry in May last year by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, I immediately addressed everyone with this request: "Please make sure that no one calls me for you. Just work conscientiously in your places, and there will be professional growth," Degtyarev shared.
He shared that everyone who was called for had already left the ecosystem of the Ministry of Sports, and everyone who worked faithfully had been promoted or transferred to a more interesting position horizontally.
In addition, Degtyarev, speaking about the recent termination of contracts with ROC partners Zasport and the ministry's partner Forward, noted that so far all contractual obligations have been cleared.
"We will definitely come to the conclusion that there will be a single outfitter. The approach itself, when the outfitters are separated, someone cooperates, like Bosco or Zasport, with the Olympic team, someone, like Forward, only with the Ministry of Sports, in my opinion, is absurd. It's idiocy when the OCD did not allow the ministry to use the Team Russia brand, working not for public, but for narrow corporate interests. We will soon come up with a solution that suits everyone — both athletes and coaches, and the audience," he concluded.
Earlier, on July 17, Degtyarev shared that Russia has made a huge contribution to the development of the global Olympic movement, and now the goal is to fully return to the Olympic family as a national team with a flag and anthem. According to him, for this it is necessary to defend the interests of Russian athletes on all fronts.
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