Vladimir Putin suggests SCO to stage sporting events

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, has suggested at the ongoing Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit that the body should try and host its own major sporting events. The comment was made by the 69-year-old when he was addressing the summit at Samarkand, Uzbekistan. All eyes have been glued to the SCO proceedings since it was announced that Putin, China’s President Xi Jinping, and India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, will all be present at the event.

In his speech, the former KGB intelligence officer said, “There are good opportunities to intensify sports cooperation with the prospect of holding major sporting events under the auspices of the SCO. To do this, we could think about creating an association of sports organisations under our association.”

In his speech, Putin also made it apparent that the SCO countries could rise as a force against the western nations (led by the United States), especially since they have the two most populous countries- India and China- in the mix. Russia has lost the support of western countries after it invaded Ukraine earlier this year.

A number of Russian athletes were banned from competing in international events after it came to light post the Winter Olympics at Sochi that they were using illicit performance-enhancing substances on the behest of the Russian government. This led to many of them being banned, and if they participated in international events like the Olympics, they had to do so under a neutral flag.

Putin’s idea of the SCO hosting sporting events was also echoed by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, who is one of the Russian president’s closest allies. Lukashenko said at the summit, “We suggest the possibility of holding a complex of sporting competitions within the framework of the SCO: summer events in 2024, winter in 2026.”

In 2024, Paris is set to host the Summer Olympics and the northern Italian region, Milano-Cortina, will be hosting the Winter Olympics.