This tailored training course targeting employees of The Association For International Sport for All (TAFISA) will be delivered online from 22 February to 3 March. The first cohort including participants from 25 countries completed their training in December. The course was met with highly positive participant feedback, resulting in an increased number of applications for the second edition of the course. Overall, more than 60 sports industry professionals from 30 countries across all continents will take part in this unique programme run jointly by RIOU, TAFISA and the Russian Olympic Committee.

The new intake of 33 participants includes representatives of the Qatar Olympic Committee, National Sport for All Federations of India and Indonesia, Korea Armwrestling Federation, International Teqball Federation (FITEQ), Mexico’s Taekwondo Academy, and other TAFISA employees from Switzerland, Nepal and other countries. 

The course curriculum is made up of 8 days of lectures and teamwork covering topics such as Strategic Planning of Sports Events, Sport Venue Management, Crowd and Risk Management, Spectator Services, Sport Event Branding and Sponsorship, among others. The teaching team comprises leading Russian and international industry experts, including representatives of TAFISA’s headquarters (TAFISA Office) in Germany. The programme will culminate in virtual tours of the sporting venues in Moscow, Sochi and Nizhny Novgorod.

On Day 1 the participants were welcomed by the programme organisers. RIOU Rector Lev Belousov said:  “We enthusiastically supported the initiative by the Russian Olympic Committee to design and deliver a course of this kind. Our faculty have developed unparalleled management expertise which they are ready to share with their international colleagues. This project will help disseminate effective tools for planning mass sports events, and I am confident that, in the long run, this will make a substantial contribution to promoting Sport for All around the world.”