RIOU welcomes fifth MSA cohort from 16 countries

Students include representatives of NOCs and sports industry organisations

The Russian International Olympic University (RIOU) is welcoming its fifth intake of students from 16

countries, including representatives of NOCs and sports industry organisations, for its internationally

recognised flagship Master of Sport Administration (MSA) course.

The MSA course, which aims to train the next generation of managers with both strategic and operational

skills needed to manage sports organisations, events and venues in any economic environment, will

commence on 25 September in Sochi. It draws on the richness and diversity of the Sochi 2014 Olympic

Games legacy, transformed into an original and innovative educational product. Instruction will be delivered

in two language versions, English and Russian, as well as in the distance-learning format.

The 16 different countries of this year’s intake comprise Belarus, China, Colombia, Ethiopia, Finland, Ghana,

India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mexico, Paraguay, Russia, Spain, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uganda.

The majority of the students will be financially supported in their studies by scholarships from the Vladimir

Potanin Foundation. The new cohort has solid sports and management backgrounds covering work within

the Olympic Movement, sports federations, football clubs, non-governmental organisations and the fitness

industry. The scholarship holders include candidates nominated by the Association of National Olympic

Committees (ANOC), International University Sports Federation (FISU), International Tennis Federation

(ITF), and National Olympic Committees of Kazakhstan, Colombia, and Trinidad and Tobago.

FISU President Oleg Matytsin said: "As a RIOU partner, FISU is delighted to see that Olympians will be

joining the RIOU MSA programme in this new academic year. Centres of learning like RIOU ensure that

leading athletes go on to lead in their chosen professions and also in their communities. And as those athletes

pursue their academic careers, FISU will remain proud to provide them with opportunities to compete at the

highest level."

Students on the Russian language version of the MSA course hail from 16 regions of the Russian Federation.

For the first time, the group includes students supported by scholarships from the Russian Olympians

Foundation. Among them are multiple Russian all-around champion and double European champion in

artistic gymnastics Sergey Khorokhordin; Russian champion in special slalom and international medallist

Anna Sorokina; and multiple Russian and international champion and medallist in athletics Vasily Dergunov.

RIOU Rector Professor Lev Belousov said: "This year’s intake demonstrates the level of international

recognition that RIOU enjoys within the Olympic family and the sports business education sector. Our

reputation for quality has been recently confirmed by SportBusiness International’s Postgraduate Course

Rankings, which placed RIOU’s MSA 2nd among European universities and 10th in the world. And it’s only

natural that our geographic outreach has expanded to eight more countries, making a total of 48. Many thanks

to the Vladimir Potanin Foundation whose support is enabling talented young people from across the world

to receive top quality education."

Professor Belousov also expressed gratitude to the Russian Olympians Foundation, which set up a

scholarship programme this year to support RIOU students: "When RIOU was created, one of the goals we

set ourselves was to help ex-athletes ‘reset’ their careers and continue their involvement with sport in a new

capacity. The Russian Olympians Foundation, dedicated to assisting retired athletes with their transition to

life after sport, is now offering such important opportunities."

RIOU’s MSA students will study modules including Economics of Sports and the Olympics; Governance,

Policy and the Olympic Movement; Research Paradigms in Sports Management; the Business of Sports and

the Olympic Games; and Sports Marketing and Communications. The course will be delivered by

distinguished Russian and international experts and professors from leading universities and centres for

Olympic studies from across the world. Special emphasis will be placed on practical training and internships.

For more information on the Master of Sport Administration course at RIOU, please contact Adelina Akhmetzyanova

(adelina@olympicuniversity.ru +7 495 956 24 30).

Ends

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The Autonomous Non-Profit Organisation "Russian International Olympic University" (RIOU) was established on 21

October 2009 under the Memorandum of Understanding between the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Sochi

2014 Organising Committee and the Russian Olympic Committee, and under a decree of the Russian Federation No

774. The founders of the University are the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation, the Russian Olympic Committee

(ROC), and Interros private investment company. RIOU’s activities concentrate on training specialists in sports

management for the Russian and international sports industry, and the Olympic and Paralympic Movements. RIOU’s

courses cover major areas of sports education: management of sporting events and facilities, mass communications,

diplomacy and administration, as well as career management.

As a service to our readers, Around the Rings will provide verbatim texts of selected press releases issued by Olympic-related organizations, federations, businesses and sponsors.

These press releases appear as sent to Around the Rings and are not edited for spelling, grammar or punctuation.

25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only