“Brazilian sport and its administrators have been preparing for a long time to host the Olympic Games. This is a long-term project with 2016 as a high point for Brazil. This seminar has sought to examine the best way to train and develop a new generation of athletes for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which Brazil hopes to host in Rio de Janeiro,” said Osório.
According to Osório, the seminar’s participants were representative of the tremendous support and integration behind Rio’s bid.

The event brought together leaders of Brazil’s sports confederations, representatives of the Ministry of Sport, and state- and municipal-level sports secretaries, all united in their work to spread knowledge of sports administration as a tool to develop Brazilian sport.

Among guest speakers were Sir Clive Woodward, Director for Elite Performance at the British Olympic Association; Bernhard Schwank, Secretary General of the German Olympic Committee; and Emílio Sanchez, the Spanish Technical-Coordinator of the Brazilian Tennis Confederation. Carlos Alberto Parreira, world-renowned football coach, also participated in a round table discussion at the event.

At the seminar’s opening session, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, President of the Brazilian Olympic Committee, highlighted the event’s significance: “One of the reasons for Brazilian volleyball’s international success has been the training programs that the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation implemented beginning in the mid-1970s.” He went on to explain: “This seminar aims to share best practice to assist in the further development of sports culture through various approaches including continuously improving sports administration. The work undertaken so far guarantees a solid base for Brazilian delegations to achieve excellent results in the coming years and all the way to 2016 and beyond, helping to inspire millions of young people in Brazil to play sport.”

Dr. João Havelange, Honorary President of FIFA, added, “I participated in two Olympic Games as an athlete and over the past 40 years, have been responsible for administering sport. Events like this are fundamental so that we can learn about everybody’s thinking, concerns and values”.

Emílio Sánchez spoke about his plans to continue developing tennis in Spain and his own victory over Argentina in 2008 at the Davis Cup final in which he starred as captain of the Spanish team. Emilio also won a silver medal at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games and has won five Grand Slam titles. Sir Clive Woodward’s intervention addressed the profile of elite trainers and how this should be assessed. Bernhard Schwank explained the organizational structure of the German Olympic Committee and how it relates to national federations.