MOSCOW: Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said on Wednesday that Moscow wanted to host the inaugural Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Games. The development came as a ban imposed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on its members to participate in sporting events in Russia.
Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said that they proposed to consider Moscow as a possible nation to host the SCO Games in coordination with the SCO chair state. The Minister said that the association’s activity could be aimed at strengthening relations in the development of non-Olympic, Olympic, Paralympic, and sports countries; SCO will also promote sports activities among the SCO member countries.
SCO Games
The statement said the Russian sports minister attended a meeting with the top officials of ministries and departments of sports in the member countries of the SCO, including representatives from Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Russia wanted to host the SCO games in the country.
The IOC is planning to permit Russians and Belarusians to return to games ahead of qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympics as neutral players without national symbols. Russia’s football teams have also been barred from FIFA and European competitions since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
