The KHL and Crvena Zvezda signed a Memorandum of strategic cooperation

KHL president Alexei Morozov and the league’s vice-president for hockey operations Andrei Tochitsky made a working visit to Belgrade, Serbia. During the course of that trip they signed a memorandum of strategic cooperation with the Crvena Zvezda hockey club.

During the two-day visit, Morozov and Tochitsky looked at Belgrade’s sporting infrastructure, including the Pionir ice palace, the multisport Stark Arena and the Pingvin ice hall.

The main event of the visit was the signing of a memorandum of strategic cooperation between the KHL and Crvena Zvezda. The document was signed by Morozov and the club’s GM, Nenad Stojkov. Under the memorandum, the league and the hockey club intend to share experience and interact in all areas of work – staging events to develop children’s hockey, running KHL masterclasses and presentations to improve coaching standards, offering joint training camps for Serbian and Russian players, and also setting up competitions between Serbian clubs and Russian hockey schools within the KHL.

In addition, there are plans for practical seminars and theory lessons to develop referees and scientific conferences and work on the technical equipment serving Serbia’s hockey infrastructure.

KHL President Alexei Morozov:
Signing this memorandum with Crvena Zvezda is an important event for the league. Earlier, we met representatives of the club in St. Petersburg at the game between SKA and CSKA, where we discussed steps towards cooperation. Some of that discussion formed part of today’s document. Our colleagues from Serbia are interested in developing hockey in their country and the KHL, as a flagship of the sport, is looking forward to sharing its accumulated experience. Crvena Zvezda has an excellent fanbase and it’s possible that in the foreseeable future we will see the team among the participants in our championship. At the same time, it’s important to remember that we have definite criteria about adding new teams to the league – first and foremost, this depends on the sporting component and the availability of appropriate infrastructure. If our Serbian colleagues are interested in this, we are ready to consult with them and provide the necessary assistance.

Crvena Zvezda GM Nenad Stojkov:
This is a really important moment in the life of Serbian hockey. The KHL needs no introduction: it is the strongest league on the continent, which is developing both on and off the ice. It’s important for us to raise interest in hockey, starting from the basics: work with kids and coaches, staging exhibition games. This opportunity to work with the best in the field will be invaluable for anybody who is involved with or interested in hockey in our country.
Serbia is a true sporting nation and everyone knows about the friendship between our teams and their Russian counterparts in many different sports. We’re sure that hockey can be yet another meeting point for our fraternal peoples. We’re not trying to rush ahead, but it would be great if at some point a Serbian team could feature on the KHL map and hockey became another important part of our friendship.