A new era for Maltese-Russian cooperation on nursery youth football clubs and other sports activities is in the pipeline after a recent organised by the Russian Ministry of Sports and Tourism.
The trip included meeting Russian Olympic World Champion Nikolai Gulyaev, who currently serves as the Head of the Moscow City Department of Sport and Tourism, and who also expressed his willingness for cooperation with all Maltese nursery youth football clubs including other sports activities
The Maltese on the trip, including Adrian Grech Cumbo, toured the city's architectural and historical culture including Red Square, The Kremlin, Moscow State University, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and the Panorama 360 Tower. They also had the opportunity to travel down Moscow river and to walk through the impressive Zaryadye Park.
Grech Cumbo explains, "The highlight of the trip was a visit to the Luzhniki Olympic Stadium, the legendary stadium complex which hosted the opening and the final of the FIFA world cup last summer."
That was followed by the grand opening of the Circle of Light Festival, which left all participants with the distinct impression that Moscow is certainly a city not to be missed.
Grech Cumbo adds, "My very first visit to Moscow was in 2003 and certainly many changes had been executed in terms of hosting tourists from every part of the world. Moscow is a city in which you feel welcomed and feel safe to walk through the streets apart the cleanliness and the organisation which is an exemplary to most Europeans.
"Our guide, Yulia Yurieva, conducted all tours with excellence as her spoken English was perfect, and her praise for Malta was so overwhelming. She had stayed in Malta over three months.
"The end result was that Mr Gulyaev has officially rubber stamped and confirmed to exchange business in the sports segment between our two countries especially football that supports nursery youth football and other sports activities.
"To this effect I will be having the full support of the Parliamentary Secretary Dr Clifton Grima, who will certainly be looking forward to reciprocating the exchange of business, especially since Air Malta has a direct flight to Moscow."