The Russian Aquatics Sports Federation says World Aquatics will require visa guarantees from countries hosting major international competitions to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate. Its Secretary General, Radmir Gabdullin, as reported by the Roscongress Sport channel, maintains that failure to comply could lead to an event being withdrawn and relocated to another country. The information still requires direct confirmation from World Aquatics to establish the content and scope of the reported measure.
“World Aquatics withdraws the right to host championships and cups and transfers it to other countries.” According to Gabdullin’s account, hosts must guarantee that their governments will not prevent athletes from obtaining the visas needed to compete. The wording of the agreement, when it may have been approved by the Bureau and which competitions would be affected have not been verified. Nor has it been established whether the requirement specifically concerns Russia and Belarus or forms part of an obligation applicable to all nationalities.
From returning to competition to accessing host countries
The backdrop is the policy change World Aquatics announced in April, when it allowed senior Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete again with their national flags, uniforms and anthems, subject to anti-doping and integrity requirements. Both federations also regained their membership rights. That decision restored their national representation in the organisation’s competitions.
The measure described by Gabdullin would add a condition linked to hosting events. If confirmed in those terms, recognition of athletes’ sporting eligibility would be accompanied by a requirement for hosts to facilitate their participation. Without the agreement or an official explanation, it cannot be stated that World Aquatics has established the automatic withdrawal of hosting rights whenever a visa is denied.
The conditions that remain unclear
The distinction matters because it is still unclear what guarantees would be required, who would have to sign them and what procedure would follow a breach. It also remains to be clarified whether they would affect events already awarded or only future hosting agreements. The potential loss of hosting rights remains a consequence attributed to World Aquatics by the Russian side, pending confirmation from the international federation.
From an institutional perspective, a policy of that scope would raise the issue of how to reconcile hosts’ sporting commitments with their authorities’ decisions on entry into the country. Assessing its effects would require knowing the exceptions, how legal restrictions would be handled and the specific powers World Aquatics reserves for itself. For now, there is a claim from the Russian federation; the document needed to turn it into a report on a confirmed decision is still missing.
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