WASHINGTON, October 15. /TASS/. US Special Envoy for Global Partnerships Paolo Zampolli said in an interview with TASS that he supported the idea of holding a match between American and Russian ice hockey legends.
"[US] President [Donald] Trump and [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin have already discussed American-Russian hockey games. That creates an interesting starting point. I would particularly like to explore a USA-Russia Hockey Legends event," the diplomat said.
"Think about what that could represent. Great American champions. Great Russian champions. The athletes people grew up watching," said the US president’s special envoy, who works within both the White House and the Department of State.
"Then put young players around them. Coaching clinics. Youth exchanges. Meetings between [sports] academies," he went on to say.
Retired champions should be invited to serve as goodwill ambassadors and create clear pathways for eligible athletes to return under transparent rules, the envoy said.
In March 2025, Trump voiced support for Putin’s proposal to organize hockey matches between players from the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in the United States and Russia.
Russia’s two-time Olympic gold medalist Vyacheslav Fetisov told TASS in June this year that a match between Russian and American hockey legends could be held soon. In Fetisov’s estimate, it may take "two-three years" to arrange a match between KHL and NHL players.
"And there is my idea to hold a match between legends. <…> We have already been holding talks with our counterparts for several months. We hope that we will come to a consensus," Fetisov said.
The full text of the interview is available on the TASS website: https://tass.com/world/2202537.