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Russian anti-doping body RUSADA promises rigorous oversight at 2024 Games of the Future

"Phygital sports combines traditional sports and cybersports and it means that the athletes involved must be aware of and strictly follow all anti-doping regulations," the statement says

MOSCOW, February 15. /TASS/. Participants of the 2024 Games of the Future are regular athletes and will be subject to the same doping tests that athletes in traditional sports take, the press office of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) announced in a statement on Thursday.

"The Games of the Future is a tournament that combines functional and digital sports activities, this is an innovation, and Phygital [Physical and Digital] Games were entered into the All-Russia Register of sports competitions only last year," the statement reads.

"Phygital sports combines traditional sports and cybersports and it means that the athletes involved must be aware of and strictly follow all anti-doping regulations," the statement continued.

"According to the World Anti-Doping Code, any athlete can be subject to a surprise doping test at any time and at any place without prior warning. This is why we do not reveal our testing plans in advance," the statement said.

Republic of Tatarstan Sports Minister Vladimir Leonov told journalists on Wednesday that Athletes representing 277 teams hailing from 107 countries have been accredited to participate in the 2024 Games of the Future, which are set to kick off in Russia next week. Leonov added that, in total, over 2,000 participants will take part in the tournament. Athletes and cyber-athletes will compete in 21 innovative sports disciplines.

2024 Games of the Future

The inaugural cybersport Games of the Future will be hosted by the Russian city of Kazan between February 21 and March 3, 2024. They will consist of new disciplines combining advanced technology, the digital environment and physical activity.

The competitions are designed to use cutting-edge developments in cybersports, robotics, both augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR), information technology (IT) and artificial intelligence (AI). The tournament offers $25 million in prize money.

As part of the preparations for the Games of the Future, Russia has organized a series of Phygital Games. The first Phygital Games were held in September 2022 and they were followed by numerous editions until today with the most recent one held in Kazan between October 5 and 22, 2023.

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