The students were proposed to ANOC by their countries' National Olympic Committees (NOC) and will take part in the RIOU's second Master of Sport Administration (MSA) course.

The two scholarships have been awarded to Natalia Brebu, secretary general of the Moldovan Tennis Federation, and Trevor Toka, national sports programmes coordinator and research monitoring and evaluation officer at the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu's Ministry of Youth Development, Sports and Training.

They were provided courtesy of the Vladimir Potanin Foundation, which supports higher education, arts and cultural projects, and philanthropy development in Russia.

"We are delighted to be able to offer these two scholarships to Natalia Brebu and Trevor Toka," said ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah.

"The National Olympic Committees of the Republic of Moldova and Vanuatu, like many NOCs, do not always enjoy the same opportunities that the bigger, more established NOCs are afforded.

"It is our job at ANOC to ensure that all 204 NOCs - big and small - receive the very highest level of service and are given access to Olympic best practice so they can continue to grow and develop.

"The RIOU scholarships are an excellent way of doing this and we thank Vladimir Potanin and his foundation for providing this opportunity."

The scholarships were provided courtesy of the Vladimir Potanin Foundation, a charity founded by Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin which supports higher education, arts and cultural projects, and philanthropy development in Russia ©Getty Images



This marks the second time ANOC has awarded students scholarships to the RIOU after Evelyn Hopp from the German Olympic Sports Confederation, Jorge Mario Marroquín Menéndez from Guatemala and Llanga Pathirathnalage Wijeratne from the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka, all received scholarships for the inaugural MSA course over the previous year.

The latest scholars were proposed by their countries' NOCs following ANOC's call for applications through the NOC network in March.

"We are very pleased that ANOC will continue to have a presence at RIOU next year," said RIOU Rector Professor Lev Belousov.

"Just last week the ANOC scholars on the inaugural MSA, along with their fellow students, received qualifications after they successfully completed the inaugural programme.

"Now we look ahead with excitement to next year's intake of students who - just as those that have just graduated - will benefit from our state-of-the-art campus, excellent facilities and world-class lecturers."

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