Oriented on making people closer

On May 16th, from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM in Kazan, a friendly football match will take place featuring prominent figures of Russian football, stars from FC Rubin, and diplomats representing member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

To date, participation in the match has been confirmed by legends of Kazan's "Rubin" club, including Macbeth Sibaya (South Africa), Gökdeniz Karadeniz (Turkiye), Sergei Ryzhikov, Roman Sharonov, Rustem Khuzin, Andrei Fedorov, Alexander Bukharov, Pavel Kharchik, and Andrei Knyazev, as well as Russian football icons and ambassadors of the Russian Football Union, Alexander Mostovoy and Ruslan Nigmatullin. The Minister of Sports of the Republic of Tatarstan, Vladimir Leonov, will also participate as a player.

The team of young diplomats will be represented by Konstantin Kolpakov, Head of the Department for Multilateral Humanitarian Cooperation and Cultural Relations of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who oversees matters related to the development of international youth cooperation, alongside colleagues – diplomats from Bangladesh, Guinea, Indonesia, Iran, Mali, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, and Russia.

The concept of holding friendly football matches between employees of foreign ministries was proposed by the Council of Young Diplomats of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in 2023. Such competitions involving representatives of the world's foreign ministries are intended to further demonstrate that sport transcends national, racial, religious, and other barriers and prejudices. Sport, as a crucial component of cultural and humanitarian cooperation, serves to unite the peoples of the world, not divide them. Having found common ground on the field of the planet's most popular sport, diplomats readily find common ground when discussing the most pressing issues on the current international agenda.

Diplomatic matches have already been organized "on the fields" of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Second Russia-Africa Summit, the World Youth Festival 2024, and other significant international events for our country.

This year, a similar match will be held for the first time in hospitable Kazan as part of the international children's tournament "East Cup" at the "Young Guard" sports camp, located in the picturesque forest area of the "Lebyazhye" nature reserve. The Cup was established by FC Rubin and the Ministry of Sports of the Republic of Tatarstan in 2024. The inaugural tournament took place from September 20th to 22nd, 2024, in Kazan, with the participation of 10 teams from Russia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Kyrgyzstan. The "Rubin" team emerged as the winner of the tournament.

Additionally, on May 16th, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, an autograph session with Alexander Mostovoy and Ruslan Nigmatullin will be held at the FC Rubin stand at the Kazan Expo International Exhibition Center. On May 17th, the RFU ambassadors will participate in the awards ceremony for the winners and runners-up of the "East Cup" tournament.

Despite the formidable reputation of their opponents, who once successfully defended the honor of our country in European cup competitions, the young diplomats are confident in their abilities. In their demanding and intense schedules, they consistently strive to find time for self-improvement, including their own physical development. A healthy lifestyle, regular training, and constant participation in competitions are integral parts of the life of any successful employee of a foreign ministry, who, by their example, motivates both compatriots and citizens of the host country.

We invite everyone to attend this beautiful and vibrant game! For media representatives, a transfer service from and back to Kazan will be organized, details of which will be announced additionally! Follow the news and join the Kazanforum Telegram channel for media!

The full program of the event is available on the official website of the forum.

See you at KazanForum 2025!

The Roscongress Foundation serves as the operator for the preparation and conduct of the event, with the ANO "Directorate of Sports and Social Projects" acting as the executive directorate of the operator.

Photo: kazanforum.ru