The presentation of the new flagship sports project "World Friendship Games", as well as other major sports events, will take place within the framework of the Russia-Africa Forum, according to the official website of the summit.
The presentation will take place in a pavilion dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Ministry of Sport.
"With the support of Roscongress, the forum will become a platform for the presentation of the 'World Friendship Games' and other sports projects, and will open up new opportunities for dialogue with colleagues from African countries through ministries of sports, Olympic committees and sports federations," said Anton Kobyakov, Advisor to the President of Russia, Executive Secretary of the Organizing Committee for Russia–Africa Events.
According to Kobyakov, one of the fundamental missions of sport is to unite people "regardless of the situation in the world." In this regard, he noted, a "rich sports program" has been prepared for the forum participants.
In particular, there will be a session titled "Sport: a bridge of friendship between Russia and Africa." The main speakers of the event are Minister of Sports Oleg Matytsin, President of the Russian Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov, ministers of sports and heads of national Olympic committees of African countries.
It is expected that the Russian Olympic Committee will sign cooperation agreements with colleagues from the National Olympic Committees of Mali, Namibia and Eswatini.
Three-time Olympic synchronized swimming champion Svetlana Kolesnichenko will lead a warm-up for participants of a running race on the first day of the summit.
Moreover, football icons from Russia and Africa, together with the forum participants, will play at the Gazprom Arena in a gala match organized by the Russian Football Union. Teams from Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana and Mali will also take part in the international football tournament Russia - Africa among student teams.
The sports program of the summit includes a diplomats' match, in which officials from the Russian Foreign Ministry and the embassies of African countries are expected to participate.
In 1984, the Soviet Union and other eight socialist nations organized a multi-sport event known as the Friendship Games or Friendship-84, which was widely seen as an alternative to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics boycotted by Moscow. In 2023, against the backdrop of the international sporting isolation in the wake of the conflict in Ukraine, Russia announced its plans to revive the Games.