The 2024 European Athletics Future Leaders Forum in association with Deloitte, is set to take place during the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, bringing together the current generation of leadership in the sport with scores of young people from across Europe building towards leadership roles in athletics in the coming years.
Dobromir Karamarinov, European Athletics President will open the conference and World Athletics President Lord Sebastian Coe will welcome participants to the four-day event on 9 June within the Foro Italico complex that houses the Stadio Olimpico, the stadium that plays host to the European Athletics Championships.
71 participants from 42 countries will attend the event to listen to some of the sport’s most influential leaders and share their own ideas and visions for the future of athletics.
The opening day’s theme is “You as a leader” the following two days will be dedicated to “Current topics in athletics” and the last day is focused on “Management of the future.” Speakers during the Future Leaders Forum include:
- Karin Grute Movin of Sweden, Vice President and Executive Board Member of European Athletics and chair of the Development Commission
- Alessio Punzi, Head of Running at World Athletics, responsible for the mass participation at various World Athletics Championships
- Former European 400m hurdles gold medallist Lea Sprunger of Switzerland, an entrepreneur who co-founded the company SMOVE with her sister Ellen, also an Olympic athlete
- Alessio Gorla, Italian sprinter and now tech entrepreneur, founding atletica.me and callroom.app
- Esther Akihary, a Dutch Olympic sprinter and Vice President of the Royal Dutch Athletics Federation
- Donna Fraser, four-times British Olympian, a cancers survivor and leading in equality diversity and inclusion in business and sport
- Scott Grace, England Athletics National Technical Lead for Youth Development and the creator of the International renowned ‘Athletics 365’ Youth Development programme.
- Sasho Belovski, an experienced sports business professional, who has worked with RunCzech to develop the SuperHalfs concept
All attendees will also have the opportunity to attend the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, experiencing first-hand Europe’s biggest athletics events alongside their peers.
European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov said: “We thank Deloitte for their generous support of this year's edition of the Future Leaders Forum. The success of our sport at all levels depends upon its relevance and engagement with young people.
“It’s important that the current generation of leaders and the future generation of leaders have opportunities like this to learn from one other. The current generations have valuable knowledge and experience, but we must also be open to innovation and the ideas of the emerging younger voices in our sport in an ever-changing world.
“Leadership in athletics is one continuous relay race. As leaders we must run our legs as best we can, but also ensure the baton is safely passed on to the future leaders so they have the best chance of succeeding. We look forward to a successful 2024 Future Leaders Forum at Roma 2024.”
Fabio Pompei, CEO Deloitte Italy, added: “We will proudly bring our expertise and knowledge to such a valuable event as the 2024 edition of the European Athletics Future Leaders Forum.
"By creating a solid bond to team up with sports institutions and athletes on a common path, we want to inspire new generations to lead sports by making it an engine of innovative change, starting with the healthiest values such as respect, diversity and inclusion that underpin any competitive competition.
"Thanks to an ongoing interlocution and a series of initiatives at the national and international level, such as precisely the Future Leaders Forum in partnership with European Athletics, we want to be among the leading players in fully integrating the world of sports into today's society for the benefit of the future of our young people.”