On Tuesday, March 29th, delegations of the Russian and Belarus Handball Federations met in Moscow. The leaders of the two federations discussed joint activities and cooperation at the levels of national teams, clubs and youth sports.
The Russian Handball Federation was represented at the meeting by its President Sergey Shishkarev, General Director Lev Voronin, Vice President Viktor Poladenko, Secretary General Denis Bogomolov, Sports Director Dmitry Bocharnikov and lawyer Maxim Gulevich. The delegation of the Belarus Handball Federation included its Chairman Vladimir Konoplev, Deputy Chairman Andrey Barbashinsky, lawyer Sergey Kolyada, as well as Andrey Krainov, Chairman of HBC SKA and Dmitry Nikulenkov, coach of the Belarus men’s national team and head coach of the men’s junior national team.
Officials and staffers of the two federations know each other well and have a long history of fruitful cooperation. The conversation was held in a friendly fashion, which, however, did not prevent both sides from firmly declaring their positions and wishes. And, of course, the Russian Handball Federation and the Belarus Handball Federation shared their intentions to work more closely together at all levels of the handball pyramid.
“We have a long record of mutually rewarding cooperation. Now, due to the current state of affairs, with the illegal suspension of our teams from international competitions, we discussed projects that should please fans both in Belarus and Russia,” said Vladimir Konoplev, Chairman of the Belarus Handball Federation. “Not only clubs, but also national teams, both men’s and women’s, both adult and youth, will not be left aside.”
“Vladimir Nikolayevich and I have been working together for years. He was one of my first mentors after I was elected to the Russian Handball Federation. He helped me find my place in the European Handball Federation and the International Handball Federation and better understand how they work,” said Sergey Shishkarev, President of the Russian Handball Federation. “Today we live in a different reality, and I can say that our negotiations are not just productive, but very successful. We have outlined many areas for further cooperation.”
The first topic of discussion was the creation of a joint men’s handball league to hold matches alongside the national championships. It will feature from six to eight clubs, with matches scheduled to be held on the same days as the EHF matches. The tournament will enable the leading teams, and, therefore, the candidates for the national teams, to get additional match exposure. An agreement on principle has been reached between the Russian Handball Federation and the Belarus Handball Federation to create such a league. The working group of the two federations will soon select the candidates for participation. The tournament may start as early as September 2022.
“I believe it will be a pretty interesting competition, just as exciting — if not more so — as the EHF matches. Our handball players will not lose their mastery,” assured Sergey Shishkarev. “We will use this time to develop new talents and to reach a new level of skill. The plan has been put into action. Our task is to create a popular world-class tournament that would promote sport integrity and improve the skills of handball players of our two fraternal countries.”
There are also big plans for joint events involving national teams. Already at the end of April, Moscow might host a mini tournament among the women’s national teams of Russia, Belarus and China, and the Russian youth teams. Proposals are also being prepared for tournaments between men’s teams of different ages. Belarus is set to host a children’s tournament with the participation of Russian teams in mid-May.
“We expect a large delegation of Chinese athletes in April, including payers of the men’s and women’s national and youth national teams. They will train at the HBC Luch base. Many top-level officials in China support the idea of promoting handball in their country. And we are ready to share our expertise,” said Sergey Shishkarev. “They will arrive just in time to adapt and show their best in our tournament.”
The issues of youth handball were also discussed. In particular, the Belarusian side expressed its desire to participate in the Children’s Festival in Tolyatti. Vladimir Konoplev assured that he would try to bring teams from all regions of Belarus to the Volga. The Belarus Handball Federation was also interested in holding training camps at the newly built Delo Sports Complex in Abrau-Durso. Sergey Shishkarev personally made a presentation on the new facility, giving a detailed description of its features and beneficial location.
Other areas of cooperation between the federations will include coaching workshops, experience sharing and joint training camps. The federations have found common ground on all the proposals and agreed to form working groups responsible for the implementation of these projects.
Dmitry Khristich
Source: Russian Handball Federation