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Deputy Sports Minister says Ministry looking at ways to keep athletes from leaving Russia

"It is a loss for us when an athlete joins the national team of another state, as certain efforts and resources are invested," Alexey Morozov noted

MOSCOW, September 27. /TASS/. The Russian Sports Ministry has not made any final decisions on potentially creating a so-called Golden Hundred for athletes, Russian Deputy Sports Minister Alexey Morozov told TASS.

Morozov told Match TV that the Sports Ministry plans to introduce the concept of a golden hundred to keep athletes from changing their national affiliation.

"There is a working discussion of various approaches to incentivize athletes and coaches in the current situation. No decisions on the golden hundred, no final formulations or definitions are available now," Morozov said. "We are discussing with the expert community what we can do. We intend to raise the pay for athletes and coaches, maybe to reward athletes who have achieved outstanding results, but this discussion is only in the works, as many structures should be involved in this."

"It is a loss for us when an athlete joins the national team of another state, as certain efforts and resources are invested. We want them to compete for the Russian national team and stay with us and we are doing everything possible for that. But so far it is just a working discussion on various options," he added.

On September 6, Morozov said that more than 100 Russian athletes had decided to move to other national teams. Among them, 55 athletes compete in Olympic sports.

In February 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended international federations not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in competitions due to the situation in Ukraine. At the end of March 2023, the IOC recommended that Russians and Belarusians should be allowed to participate in international competitions only as neutral athletes, and only those who have not publicly expressed support for the special operation in Ukraine or are not associated with the armed forces or national security agencies. Also, Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be represented in team sports.

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