Turkmenistan's Sporting Tragedy - Glory to the State, Money

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ASHGABAT 001254

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN (PERRY, NICOLAIDIS)

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON PINR TX
SUBJECT: Turkmenistan's Sporting Tragedy - Glory to the State, Money
to Athletes and Managers

Summary
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1. (SBU) Political machinations, corruption and greed are literally
and figuratively bankrupting Turkmenistan's sports. Since
independence, the Soviet athleticism legacy has been eroding and hit
the proverbial new low when Turkmenistan's soccer team withdrew from
the 2006 Asian Games, one week prior to the start of the tournament,
citing "doubts about how the team would do." This incident
confirmed anecdotal information on the demise of athletic
competition in Turkmenistan and provided evidence that, as in other
social sectors, deeper political and economic factors are impairing
sports development. End Summary.

No More Sports for the Masses
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2. (SBU) Turkmenistan inherited a centralized state-run sports
system from the Soviets. However, during the country's 15 years of
independence, the government has eliminated central budget support
for national sports. Often, individuals and teams must find
international sports NGOs and private businesses to support their
efforts or rely on athletes' personal money streams. The
government's promotion of sports on a massive level has decreased,
resulting in fewer people playing sports. In the late 1990s,
President Niyazov, probably responding to budgetary shortfalls,
cancelled all school physical education classes, stating that people
should play sports in specialized facilities, such as stadiums and
gyms, not schools. Niyazov further argued that privatizing sports
would lead to increased international sports achievement.

Bringing Glory to the Motherland: Tools of the Trade
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3. (SBU) The government's priorities have shifted from mass sports
to high-level international sports which provide publicity for the
government, both for national and foreign audiences. Raising
Turkmenistan's flag in international sports fora is one way of
making Turkmenistan known and brings the country closer to becoming
"a developed nation," a goal high on Niyazov's political agenda.
But more importantly, it is a useful domestic propaganda tool for
Turkmenistan's people to believe that their country is "conquering
international heights in all fields, including sports, under the
relentless leadership of Saparmyrat Turkmenbashy the Great," as
described by the state-owned media. For this reason, the government
occasionally recognizes outstanding athletes by granting them
honorary titles, state and financial awards, and material
privileges, such as free apartments.


4. (SBU) Athletes, managers and media have learned to play along
and "supply" the government with good results. Athletes travel to
tournaments where they think there will be weaker opponents, play
non-mainstream sports in which they have greater opportunities for
success, and host tournaments without inviting strong athletes and
teams. The President's Cup, an annual international soccer
tournament sponsored by the Government of Turkmenistan, is an
example of hosting an event to "reap" good results. The annual
event features a few teams from neighboring countries, mostly from
the CIS. Turkmenistan's teams often end up winning the tournament,
mostly with the "assistance" of referees. Conversely,
Turkmenistan's soccer team withdrew from the 2006 Asian Games
because the country's soccer association "had doubts about how the
team would do," according to the November 16 Associated Press
report. A local sports reporter confirmed to PolAsst on November 27
that "the team is very weak now and soccer managers did not want the
team to lose badly against strong teams, such as Japan and North
Korea."

Not Every Champion a Turkmen Champion
--------------


5. (SBU) In addition to picking the right tournaments to win, the
right athletes need to do the winning. In fact, Turkmenistan is
home to the reigning world champion disabled power lifter. This
athlete receives neither press coverage nor any support from the
state. Instead, he wins in complete anonymity in a dingy gym with
equipment provided by USAID. In past years, Turkmenistan has
attempted to prevent U.S. assistance from reaching its Special
Olympics team, claiming the group was not registered correctly. The
government also has tried to block USG attempts to attract disabled
students to apply for its educational exchange programs. And the

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government refused to publicize a recent U.S. contribution of 240
wheelchairs to the National Disabled Sports club. Clearly, and
chillingly, disabled athletes do not qualify for the president's
vision of a great Turkmen nation.

Co-opting Foreigners
--------------


6. (SBU) Another tool to glorify the state is having one's picture
taken with well-known people during trips to tournaments abroad,
especially while handing the celebrity the president's book,
"Ruhnama." The photos are then published in local media as a sign
of the country's international success. Having famous sports
figures come to Turkmenistan is an even better publicity
opportunity. In 2005, emboff attended a banquet in honor of
Hidetaka Nishiyama, a world-renowned karate master, who visited the
country at the invitation of the local traditional karatedo
federation, scoring the federation brownie points with the
government.


7. (SBU) All of these glorification tricks are accompanied by
sports managers' lies and exaggerations about their athletes'
international performances to reporters. According to a state news
agency sports reporter, "Many sports journalists have gotten into
the habit of simply believing the facts athletes and their managers
provide them and including them in their reports." Most reporters
do not have Internet access to verify the results, and all local
journalists and editors are known to practice self-censorship; they
do not publish articles about unsuccessful performances. A local
sports writer was surprised when his article that mentioned
Turkmenistan's declining performance over the years at the Asian
Games passed the editor's review. He suspected that the editor
missed the nuance in what he wrote.

Showy Sports Palaces
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8. (SBU) Another instrument in the government's propaganda
vis-a-vis sports is construction of lavish sports facilities. Two
stadiums, a hippodrome, an ice-skating rink and a swimming complex
are some of the projects commissioned in the past few years,
totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. These facilities were
built to support Niyazov's Ashgabat city beautification program, but
they could have created an improved environment for sports
development. The new facilities are often poorly maintained after
construction because the ministries tasked with maintaining the
infrastructure either do not have sufficient funds or the relevant
maintenance expertise, or both. Many facilities are rented to
commercialized gyms, which charge fees that are unaffordable to an
average citizen. In addition, professional coaching salaries remain
insufficient to attract the best qualified for these positions.

Gray Money to Athletes
--------------


9. (SBU) Athletes and managers also participate in Turkmenistan's
sports programs in order to compete internationally and reap the
financial benefits of foreign currency conversion. The State
Committee for Tourism and Sports reviews sports project proposals
then forwards their funding recommendations to the banking
department at the Cabinet of Ministers. Only the Cabinet of
Ministers can grant permission for banks to convert sports
Government NGOs' (GONGOs) or athletes' local currency (manats) into
foreign currency at the official exchange rate, which is five times
more beneficial than the black market rate. Using rounded numbers,
the government will exchange an approved athlete's 25,000 manats for
$5.00 vice the $1.00 conversion rate the athlete would receive on
the black market. (Note: Currency exchange operations in
Turkmenistan, from dollars to manats, usually take place on the
black, aka, commercial, market, where the exchange rate is more
favorable. End Note.) Previous athletic success often results in
ministerial approval for conversion; hence, the exaggerated
publicity of international competition achievements in various
non-mainstream sports or not-so-competitive events (festivals,
scholastic and university competitions). Sports organizations and
athletes also illegally benefit by providing documents with forged
costs and overstating expenses related to participation in
international tournaments, thus reaping more ill-gained dollars.


10. (SBU) The dual exchange rate system could have provided
considerable assistance to develop sports, but has been abused by

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sports GONGOs and government sports officials, who appreciate the
opportunity for graft. The government often sponsors Turkmenistan's
athletes' participation in official events, such as World or Asian
championships or Olympic Games, but to get conversion for other
tournaments, athletes often need a "connection," a person who
lobbies for conversion approval. The lobbyer and an official at the
State Committee for Tourism and Sports keep their share of the
exchange profit. This results in preferential treatment for some
sports. A sports reporter told PolAsst, and other sports
practitioners confirmed, that a chess federation director general,
for example, has "excellent" connections with a deputy minister of
sports. The reporter said, "That was the reason this chess
practitioner got one of the two presidential Independence Day
anniversary decorations allocated for sports." Even if a traveling
team has the sports ministry's support, it is not uncommon that a
currency conversion decision is delayed until a day or two before a
competition to ensure that athletes and sports managers share their
financial windfall with officials.


11. (SBU) Once a conversion request is approved, team managers and
coaches may request that athletes or their families pay a fee in
excess of what is required in order to make money for themselves.
Athletes often pay, because they still receive subsidized travel to
an international tournament. Weaker, but wealthier, athletes are
often selected by coaches and managers to participate in tournaments
abroad because they are able to "sponsor" coaches and other strong
athletes by paying a large sum.


12. (SBU) International assistance to sports in Turkmenistan is
also abused, including grants from the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) to the National Olympic Committee of Turkmenistan.
According to one sports bureaucrat, eight athletes currently receive
four-year IOC grants to prepare for the 2008 Olympics. The grants
are for $1,000 per month, but the athletes receive only $200 in
cash. Athletes are told that the balance is spent to cover medical
and other expenses. Apart from the IOC, Turkmenistan's athletic
organizations receive assistance from the international
organizations FIFA (soccer),IAAF (track and field),ITF
(International Tennis Federation) and from foreign governments as a
diplomatic outreach tool; for instance, Japan subsidizes judo and
karatedo. However, absent mandatory reporting, their support leaves
space for abuse; equipment and uniforms provided by international
NGOs and governments are often sold privately.


13. (SBU) Not everyone likes the gray economic incentives. Many
skillful athletes and coaches leave Turkmenistan to work in other
countries where they are paid better and do not encounter
bureaucratic obstacles. A Turkmen soccer coach working in Russia,
Gurban Berdiyev, has led his club team, "Rubin," to success in
Russia's premier league for three consecutive years. Depending on
the circumstances, many of the sports migrants are regarded as
betraying their motherland. The only female chess grandmaster in
Turkmenistan, Mahri Geldiyeva, who won medals in prestigious
international tournaments, was not welcomed back after she worked as
a coach in Singapore for several years. According to several chess
players, many thought she would not be allowed to represent
Turkmenistan in international events, but she was "forgiven" and
earned fourth place on December 4 in a women's individual event
during the Asian Games.

Mainstream Sports Languish
--------------


14. (SBU) Those legitimate athletes participating in mainstream
sports where there is next to no chance of winning on the
international scene, e.g., tennis, receive no financial support. A
former number one junior player in Turkmenistan said she had to pay
her own way to all international tournaments and also pay for all
her court time and equipment. Given the lack of Internet and normal
supply routes, access to competition-quality equipment is difficult.
This player told Charge that members of the tennis federation
travel to Dubai as shuttle traders and then resell the equipment in
Turkmenistan. This player now makes her living giving tennis
lessons, but has to pay for court time and receives no support from
the Turkmenistan Tennis Federation of Turkmenistan. (Comment: She
said she had tried to apply for law school but couldn't afford the
$14,000 admittance bribe. Though she was born and raised in
Turkmenistan and was a nationally ranked athlete, she is ethnic
Dagestani and not Turkmen, therefore the bribe to go to law school
was the "foreigners rate," twice the domestic rate. End Comment.)
She says the Federation even has to pay rent to the Ministry of

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Sports and Tourism of approximately $800/month for the six courts
located on the periphery of the "Olympic Stadium," thereby depriving
the Federation of any revenue it might acquire from payment of court
fees by tennis enthusiasts.


15. (SBU) There is no budget for junior tennis players wishing to
compete internationally. The recent local winner of a 13 year-old
and under tournament in Malaysia had her plane ticket funded by the
Turkish Ambassador. Charge has been approached repeatedly by
trainers and parents asking for travel support for their children to
compete internationally. Nevertheless, the courts are almost always
full with talented children and parents hoping they'll get the "big
break."

Comment: Where Are Turkmenistan's Sports Headed?
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16. (SBU) Inflated government-led propaganda in sports and
financial schemes that lack clarity and integrity have negatively
influenced Turkmenistan's athletic achievements. Too much financial
uncertainty and too many unnecessary bureaucratic headaches distract
athletes and prevent them from advancing professionally. There are
basically no initiatives coming from the government aimed at
encouraging athletes' professional development. Any successful
result is immediately attributed to "the great leader's attention
and care for sports," and -- like society in general -- athletes are
captive to the government's strict control mechanisms. Athletes are
not able to independently finance their professional work, and every
year, sports are succumbing to the political pressure of corrupt
leadership. More attention on true athletic achievement, coupled
with promoting successful athletes as role models for younger
generations, could nurture a future desire for a true sporting
environment...and by extension, a healthier lifestyle. End Comment.


BRUSH