Football legends to grace Russia-Africa summit
Russian and African football legends will play a gala match at the Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg during the Russia-Africa Summit 2023.
The match is organized by the Russian Football Union (RFU) and will be part of a wider sports committee that also includes a Russia-Africa international football tournament, a diplomats’ match, and a session on “Sport: A Bridge of Friendship between Russia and Africa”.
The sports committee is supported by the general partners of the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum: Gazprom, Gazprombank, Rosatom, Uralchem, and Uralkali. Rosseti is the strategic partner of the event; Lukoil is a partner, while Novatek and Sberbank are national partners. Other partners are: Avtovaz, African Export-Import Bank and Russian Export Centre.
The Second Russia-Africa Summit and Economic and Humanitarian Forum will take place on July 27-28 in St. Petersburg. The forum will provide a platform to enhance international communications in sport and will feature a rich sports committee.
On July 27 at 9:00 a.m., a session titled “Sport: A Bridge of Friendship between Russia and Africa” will be held. The session will feature Russian Minister of Sport Oleg Matytsin, President of the International Boxing Association Umar Kremlev, President of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation Irina Viner, and President of the Russian Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov. Ministers of sport and heads of National Olympic Committees from African countries will also participate in the event.
The World Friendship Games, which Russia will host in September 2024, will be showcased at the forum’s pavilion commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Ministry of Sport. The Russian Olympic Committee is set to sign cooperation agreements with counterparts from the National Olympic Committees of Mali, Namibia and Eswatini.
Three-time Olympic synchronized swimming champion Svetlana Kolesnichenko will lead the warm-up session for participants at the “We Are Starting” race, marking the opening of the forum’s first day. The race is scheduled to commence at 6:30 a.m. in Primorsky Victory Park. Participants can register for the event in their personal accounts.
The race is the third in the “Time to Act” series, an initiative of RC Sport, the sports platform of the Roscongress Foundation, and the League of Heroes, with the support of the Ministry of Sport.
