The SKA Academy and the Red Machine Junior school signed a memorandum with the CHAMPIONS Group

Under the auspices of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, the SKA Academy and the Red Machine Junior school can announce the signing of a memorandum of cooperation with the CHAMPIONS Group, a multinational holding company founded in India which deals in infrastructure development, information technology, real estate, infotainment events and sports development. The memorandum was signed by Roman Rotenberg and Sukrit Sharan, the Advisor to the Chairman of CHAMPIONS Group. Sukrit Sharan is a member of the family of former Prime Minister of the Republic of India Lal Bahadur Shastri and an active supporter of Russian-Indian strategic relations.

The ambassador of the project will be Vladimir Mashkov, a People's Artist of the Russian Federation and the Chairman of the Union of Theatre Workers of the Russian Federation.

As part of the cooperation, joint events are planned in the fields of culture, sport and other areas, including the organisation of festivals, matches and tournaments in field hockey, ice hockey and other sports.

It is also planned to cooperate in a variety of areas, from holding scientific and methodological conferences and seminars for coaches and sporting managers to developing software and computer games.

Furthermore, as a part of the cooperation agreement, it's possible to build an arena for ice hockey and figure skating in India with the investment support of the CHAMPIONS Group.

General Director of the SKA Academy Roman Rotenberg:

- The signing of this memorandum of cooperation with the CHAMPIONS Group is only the first step. We know just how popular field hockey is in India, it attracts huge attendances. We need to strive to achieve such attendance figures too. We want to develop our mutual sporting and cultural exchanges, stage joint competitions in Russia and India. The SKA Academy and the Red Machine Junior Academy have rich experience and all of the required competencies. I’m confident that the cooperation between SKA and the CHAMPIONS Group will be long and productive. Champions should stick together!

Chairman of the Union of Theatre Workers Vladimir Mashkov:

- It’s a great honour for me to become the ambassador of such an important and relevant project. And, what is especially important for me, we will develop cooperation in the fields of culture and sports. Russian culture is integral for the world, and Russia is a recognised world leader in ice hockey. Our actors, artists and athletes are the idols of millions around the world.

Ice hockey is an important part of Russian culture. Films about sport and ice hockey are consistently of great interest to viewers. We were all brought up on the successes of our ice hockey players, and actors and directors are no exception. Vysotsky sang about hockey, Yevtushenko wrote poetry. This is part of our cultural code.

Cooperation with our Indian partners is extremely important. Once again, we’re showing that a significant part of the world is on our side. Russia has always been generous and welcomed its friends with open arms. I’m confident that we have the power to make ice hockey no less popular among the people of India than their beloved sport of field hockey.