The Minister of Tourism and Sport of the Slovak Republic, Dušan Keketi and Martin Benko from the Slovak Sports Innovation Centre, signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation today.

The Ministry of Tourism and Sport of the Slovak Republic (MCRŠ) and the Slovak Sports Innovation Centre (SŠIC) solemnly signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation this week. This important partnership aims to strengthen innovation and modernization of the Slovak sports sector, which will contribute to its higher competitiveness at the international level.

"The signing of this memorandum represents an important step forward for Slovak sport. A common vision with SŠIC will allow us to share know-how and resources that will be key to the development of innovative projects and increase the competitiveness of our athletes and organizations," said Dušan Keketi, Minister of Tourism and Sport of the Slovak Republic.

The memorandum highlights the importance of innovation as a driver of technological, organisational and social progress in sport. At the same time, it takes into account the Lisbon Call for Innovation in Sport, which was approved by the Council of the European Union in 2021. The participants of the memorandum agreed on close cooperation in areas such as the creation of strategic documents, the implementation of innovative solutions and the development of digital transformation in Slovak sport.

"We believe that this partnership will open up new opportunities for Slovak sport and contribute to making it more attractive, safer and better prepared for the challenges of the future," added Martin Benko, Chairman of SŠIC.

The participants of the memorandum agreed on cooperation, especially in the creation of strategies for the application of innovations, on the transfer of foreign know-how in the conditions of the Slovak sports sector and on the organization of educational activities and professional seminars. At the same time, the Ministry will cooperate with the Slovak Sports Innovation Centre on the creation of projects aimed at supporting sports innovations. To implement these activities, both entities will strive to obtain funds from the European Union, both public and private sources.

The duration of the memorandum is until the end of 2030.