RIOU & Kazakhstan Partner to Create Sports Legacy

The Sochi-based Russian International Olympic University (RIOU) and Kazakhstan have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) aiming to create a vibrant sports legacy in Kazakhstan.

The MoC was signed by RIOU Rector Professor Lev Belousov and Chairman of the Agency for Sport and Physical Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan Erlan Kozhagapanov. 

RIOU and Kazakhstan will work together to promote the Olympic values, share expertise and to train staff to develop sport in Kazakhstan at both grassroots and elite level. The RIOU will offer it’s state of the art campus in Sochi, the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics, and a proactive outreach programme.

Kozhagapanov said: “The development of sport in Kazakhstan requires not only talented coaches and athletes but highly qualified managers who can offer new ideas on developing our sports industry. That’s why we are delighted to have RIOU as our partner and we are very grateful for the opportunity to harness the University’s advanced teaching resources in sports management”.

Lev Belousov added: “The development of sport in Kazakhstan is generating more and more media attention thanks to positive results recorded by Kazakh athletes and teams at recent global events, particularly at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London last summer.

“RIOU was founded by a Memorandum of Understanding between the International Olympic Committee, the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee and the Russian Olympic Committee. Its mission is to ensure that leavers are equipped to become top sports managers anywhere in the world.

“Being based in Sochi, RIOU is in the unique position of being at the heart of next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. We will endeavour to transfer the skills and knowledge which we are learning about through Sochi’s position as a sports hub to young Kazakh specialists so that, in turn, they can enhance Kazakhstan’s sports development.”