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About Directorate

Official organizer of major international and all-Russian events

Over the entire period of its operation, the Directorate for Sports and Social Projects has successfully implemented more than 120 projects on international, federal, and regional scales.

 

Maksim Denisov is the Director General.

History

 

The Directorate was founded on August 14, 2009 with the aim of arranging and hosting the 27th Summer Universiade Kazan 2013 that played a big role in the city’s development and provided it with infrastructure and intangible legacy for further major events. After the Universiade, the Directorate carried on, expanding its activities and staging major all-Russian and international events both independently and as part of multiple organizing committees.

 

The Directorate’s projects include the 16th FINA World Championships, Red Bull Air Race, WorldSkills Kazan 2019, Games of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) 2021, World and European championships in badminton, judo, sambo, and other sports, global international conferences in sports, and other fields. The Directorate also became an organizer of the FIFA Fan Fest in 2018 and participated in the preparation and staging of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ matches.

 

 

In 2020, the Directorate acted as an operator for celebrations dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (TASSR). In 2021, which was announced as the Year of Native Languages and National Unity in the Republic of Tatarstan, the Directorate participated in coordination of the republican plan of events.

 

Directorate today

 

In the coming years, Kazan is to play host to several large-scale events organized by the Directorate.

 

With the support of the Russian Ministry of Sport and the Republic of Tatarstan leadership, the Directorate continues to actively develop a relationship with international federations and organisations.  Moreover, the Directorate is UNESCO’s strategic partner in the implementation of the Kazan Action Plan approved during the MINEPS VI Conference.

About us in figures

Today, the Directorate continues to work on the preparation and staging of international and all-Russian events in the Republic of Tatarstan.

14 years of experience
over 130 projects
over 70,000 volunteers

Founders

 

The Directorate was founded jointly by the Russian Federation represented by the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tatarstan represented by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tatarstan, the city of Kazan represented by the Committee of Land and Property Relations of the Executive Committee of the Kazan City Municipality, and the Russian Student Sport Union (an all-Russian public organization).

 

Russian National Health and Fitness Program 

 

At the suggestion of the Sports Ministry of the Russian Federation, the Directorate for Sports and Social Projects was appointed the dedicated federal agency responsible for the implementation of the Russian National GTO Health and Fitness Program in the Russian Federation.

 

As part of the project, the Directorate coordinates the work performed by the regional executive authorities in the field of physical culture and sport, ensures the smooth running of the all-Russian database and the official GTO complex web portal, participates in the personnel training program, arranges the manufacture of GTO pins and certificates and their delivery to the Russian Federation regions, implements the marketing program, and organizes media coverage of the progress of the GTO complex implementation at the federal level.

Legacy

 

The 2013 Summer Universiade transformed Kazan: in the capital of Tatarstan, 30 state-of-the-art cost-effective sports venues were built up, including the unique complex of the Universiade Village, the material and technical facilities of universities and sports schools were reinforced, and the city infrastructure underwent large-scale modernization. The successful staging of the Universiade also made it possible to open the FISU International Education Centre, create the institute of sports volunteers and implement the initiative to create an International Volunteer Academy.

 

The WorldSkills Kazan 2019 Competition gave Kazan the Kazan Expo International Exhibition Centre and left an abundance of high-quality equipment and inventory for vocational education institutions. Tatarstan got an opportunity to introduce world standards into the professional education system.

 

In cooperation with the International Swimming Federation (FINA), the FINA Development Centre was opened and operates henceforth. The main objective of the Centre is to establish the most favourable conditions for the athletes representing the countries with low national aquatics records to successfully unlock their potential and offer the opportunity to raise their results in preparation for the World Championships and the Olympics. Among some of the centre’s priorities are improving the qualification level of coaches and judges from Russia and the neighbouring nations along with coaches’ certification programs.

2009
2013
2014
2015
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2009

Directorate foundation

On August 14, 2009, the Directorate commenced operations on the preparation for the 27th Summer Universiade in Kazan.

 

  • Kazan lost its first bid to host the Universiade to the Chinese city of Shenzhen.
  • The bid was submitted for the second time, when Kazan received the majority of the votes from the FISU (International University Sports Federation) Executive Committee members, taking the win over the Spanish Vigo and South Korean Gwangju.
  • On August 14, 2009, the Executive Committee of the 27th Summer Universiade Kazan 2013 started operation.
2013

27th Summer Universiade

The Kazan Universiade was recognized by the world’s sports community as the best in the history of the international university Games.

 

  • 27 sports
  • 800,000 spectators
  • 11,000 participants
  • 160 countries
  • 351 sets of medals
  • 3 billion TV viewers
  • 19,970 volunteers
2014

Russian National GTO Health and Fitness Program

By the decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated March 24, 2014, the Russian National GTO Health and Fitness Program was revived. The Directorate was appointed the federal operator for implementing the GTO complex.

 

  • 2,638 testing centers across the country
  • 14,400,000 participants
  • 14 federal and 91 regional ambassadors
  • 4,230,000 pins awarded
2014

World Fencing Championships

Thanks to its experience in hosting major sporting events, Kazan was granted the right to host the international fencing tournament. Competitions were held with three types of weapons: foil, épée, and sabre.

 

  • 102 countries
  • Over 800 athletes
  • 12 sets of medals
  • 42 international judges and 79 national judges of various categories
  • 343 volunteers
2014

FINA High Diving World Cup

In the run-up to the 16th FINA World Championships 2015, the Directorate staged the first-ever High Diving World Cup.

 

  • 3 competition days
  • 35 athletes
  • 16 countries
  • 7 judges
  • About 1,000 spectators
2015

16th FINA World Championships

The championships were recognized by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) as the best in the history of such tournaments.

 

  • 2,413 athletes
  • 6 sports
  • 190 countries
  • 75 sets of medals
  • 6.8 billion TV viewers
  • 2,651 hours of live broadcast
2017

Sixth International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport (MINEPS VI)

The Directorate became a strategic partner of UNESCO in the implementation of the Kazan Action Plan unanimously adopted by representatives of participating countries.

 

  • 103 countries
  • 35 sport ministers and senior officials responsible for physical education and sport
  • 20 heads of international sports organizations
  • Over 700 participants
2017

Red Bull Air Race World Championships

The first Russian leg of the Red Bull Air Race series was held in the water area of the Kazanka River. The Directorate was also the organizer of the air show in the two following years.

 

  • 23 pilots
  • 15 participating countries
  • 240,000 spectators
  • 180 volunteers
  • 220 media representatives
  • TV broadcasts in 187 countries
2017

FISU Volunteer Leaders Academy International Volunteer Forum

FISU Volunteer Leaders Academy is a unique education platform where volunteers and members of national university sports federations share knowledge and experience in staging international sporting events. The forum is held annually.

 

  • Over 100 sports volunteers
  • Over 80 countries
  • 7 days of discussions, master classes, and sessions
2018

FIFA Fan Fest™

Kazan was among the eleven Russian host cities of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ matches. A unique entertainment area was erected next to the Kazan Family Center specially for fans who came to Kazan from all over the world.

 

  • 26 days of operation
  • 808,081 visitors
  • 3,200 performers
  • 205 city volunteers working every day
  • 31,000 visitors on the day of the Russia vs Croatia match
2018

FINA Development Center

In September 2018, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) signed an agreement on establishing a center in Kazan in order to implement various FINA scholarship and development programs.

 

  • 30 holders of FINA scholarship program from 25 countries
  • 2 disciplines of athletes’ training (swimming and diving)
  • 4 FINA International Seminars for coaches and judges and 1 FINA School for artistic swimming judges
  • 143 participants of the FINA educational program
2019

45th WorldSkills Competition

The competition became Russia’s most large-scale international event in 2019.

 

  • Over 1,300 competitors
  • 63 countries
  • 56 skills
  • 1,304 experts
  • 3,500 volunteers
  • 272,000 spectators
2020

100th Anniversary of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (TASSR)

The Directorate was selected as the operator of the celebrations dedicated to the memorable date.

 

  • Over 14,000 events
  • 69 subjects of Russia, 45 municipal districts of the Republic of Tatarstan
  • 266 certificates for the 100th Anniversary of the TASSR trademark awarded
  • 3,000 commemorative coins issued
  • 4,500 venues built and restored
2020

First All-Russian Urban Games

The multisport festival, which was decided to make annual, was held in Russia’s largest URAM Extreme Park commissioned in the summer of 2020.

 

  • 800 athletes
  • 10 sports
  • 80 sets of medals
  • 8 fields of play
2021

Special Olympics Russia Winter Invitational Games

 

The Invitational Games were a test event in the lead-up to the Special Olympics World Winter Games 2022.

 

  • 600 athletes from 36 regions
  • 6 sports
  • 4 venues
  • 490 volunteers
2021

First CIS Games

The idea of staging the CIS Games was put forward by the Russian Federation. The proposal was supported during the meeting of the Council of CIS State Leaders in Dushanbe on September 28, 2018.

 

  • Over 1,500 delegation members
  • Over 1,100 athletes
  • 400 judges and refrees
  • 181 medal events
  • 16 sports
2021

Year of Native Languages ​​and National Unity

The Directorate acted as a chief coordinator of events aimed at preserving native languages, developing public education and strengthening ethnic and cultural affiliation.

 

  • Over 9,000 events
  • 3 million visitors
  • 25 nationalities live in Tatarstan
  • 56.6% of children are educated in their native language in the republiс
2022

Solidarity Games

The Games are aimed at developing aquatic sports and strengthening traditionally established friendly ties between the participating countries.

 

  • 3 stages
  • 2 competition venues
  • 8 tournaments
  • 3,058 athletes
  • 30 nations
2022

Phygital Games

From September to December 2022, Kazan held a series of competitions in anticipation of an innovative and grandiose event known as Games of Future. These competitions included the following disciplines:
Phygital Football, Phygital Basketball, Beat Saber, Drone Race, Phygital Race, Phygital MMA and Phygital Hockey.

 

  • 7 disciplines
  • 110 participants
  • 4 venues
  • 315 volunteers
2022

Forum for 50th Anniversary of Convention Concerning Protection of World Heritage

A declaration stating the participants’ resolve to form a fair, representative and geographically balanced UNESCO World Heritage List was formed following the results of the Forum.

 

  • 9 events
  • 1700 participants
  • 7 venues
2023

United Games by the Special Olympics rules

In January 2023, Kazan played host to the first large-scale competitions of new format for people with intellectual disabilities. The Games featured events in both summer and winter sports.

 

  • 4 competition days
  • 14 sports venues
  • 18 sports
  • 2,177 participants
  • 9,000 spectators
2023

XIV International Economic Forum “Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum”

Tatarstan has become the main platform for economic cooperation between the Russian Federation and the countries of the Islamic world.

 

  • 16,223 participants
  • 706 media representatives
  • 150 sessions
  • 4 days
2024

International multisport tournament “Games of the Future”

The first-ever Games of the Future in the concept of phygital is a sports show of a new format combining competitions in physical and digital dimensions.

 

  • more than 2,000 participants
  • 9 venues
  • 21 disciplines
  • 12 days
  • $25 million in prize money

Awards

 

Projects implemented by the Directorate were acknowledged with prestigious awards, among which are the International Sport Event Management (ISEM) Awards’ trophies in the Most Innovative Event and Event Look categories for the 27th Summer Universiade (2013), as well as numerous letters of gratitude forwarded by the international and national federations, ministries and authorities, organizations and companies.

Charity

 

Since 2015, the Directorate has actively participated in charity activities. The organization has taken part in over 40 charity events, sports tournaments, and marathons. Within the framework of its charity program, the Directorate allocated over 5 million roubles to the Ispolneniye Mechty (Dream Fulfilment), Ronald McDonald House, Alpari, Radost Detstva, and other charitable foundations.

Address 420010

35 Building, Universiade Village, Kazan

Get directions

Phone number +7 (843) 222 07 82

Feel free to contact us

09:00 - 18:00 Mon-Fri

Email volunteers@dspkazan.com
Vkontakte vk.com/kazanvolunteers
ANO DIRECTORATE FOR SPORTS AND SOCIAL PROJECTS

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