Putin orders mass participation sports development to be included in several national projects
MOSCOW. March 27 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered that the government adopt the new Strategy for Development of Physical Culture and Sports before October 2020 and that a number of measures regarding the development of mass participation sports be included in the passports of national projects.
"Developing mass participation sports should certainly be included in our national projects, as all of them are built around people's interests and demands in the first place," Putin said at a meeting of the Council for Development of Physical Culture and Sports on Wednesday.
It is important to take this into account in such projects as Demography, Housing and City Environment, Healthcare, Education, which should create modern, comfortable conditions for the lives of people and, therefore, for taking part in sports, he said.
The Council's working group came to conclusion that issues related to mass participation sports are not fully reflected in national projects, the president said.
"We can and should rectify this situation. I ask for measures in the area of developing physical culture and sports to be included in the passports of national projects and for ensuring their funding," the head of state said.
The term of the current Strategy for Development of Physical Culture and Sports will expire next year, Putin said. "Given our talks of today I ask that the government, and we will discuss that separately, and the Sports Ministry urgently begin drafting a new strategy through 2030 and endorse it no later than in October 2020 in order to begin this document's rapid and effective implementation in the future," Putin said.
Additionally, when speaking of developing the mass participation sports infrastructure, Putin said that this should be "within walking distance." "In particular, it is necessary to profoundly explore how the capacities of sport facilities at educational institutions can be used effectively," he said.