Lausanne, Switzerland: With just under a month to go for the SportAccord Convention World Sport and Business Summit in Sochi, Russia, SportAccord President, Marius L. Vizer spoke with Euronews about his tenure in office ahead of the presidential elections during the annual meeting of the sports industry.
“SportAccord has platforms that deliver services to members. We are starting a lot of platforms for international federations, as well as providing solutions for raising money, generating exposure and increasing attractiveness of sports,” said Mr. Vizer, ahead of an expected return to the presidency of SportAccord for a 4-year term.
As part of his vision to give SportAccord a global presence, Mr. Vizer recently signed the World Combat Games 2017 into effect with Lima, Peru and also oversaw theopening of the first regional headquarters of SportAccord in Moscow. He said, “Russia, for me, is investing the most in sports, mainly in international events which generate benefits for international and national federations. They have good logistics and infrastructure.”
Recounting his journey in judo, Mr. Vizer said that he would like to replicate a similar model of success for SportAccord. “We went from 2 major events in 4 years to 20 events in a year, which are broadcast in 150 countries,” he said.
Mr. Vizer started his sporting journey as an athlete and then became a coach in judo. After heading his national federation, he took over as the head of the European Judo Union and in 2007 took over the reins of the International Judo Federation. In May 2013, he was elected as the president of SportAccord for a 2-year term during the elections held in St. Petersburg in 2013.
Source: SportAccord
