Tatarstan
Sports

With 9,175 sports venues in Tatarstan, the republic is one of the leading sports regions in Russia. Since 1973, Kazan has been making efforts to expand its sports infrastructure, with sports being a "great source of pride" for the people of Kazan.

Tatarstan has Rubin Kazan, a major European football team which has played in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. Twice Russian champions, Rubin Kazan play in the Russian Premier League. Also, Tatarstan has Unics Kazan which has gained a significant role in European basketball, playing in Euroleague and EuroCup for decades.

It also has two KHL teams, the successful Ak Bars Kazan, which is based in the capital city of Kazan, and the Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, who play in the city of Nizhnekamsk. The state also has a Russian Major League team (the second highest hockey league in Russia), Neftyanik Almetyevsk, who play in the city of Almetyevsk. There are also two Minor Hockey League teams which serve as affiliates for the two KHL teams. A team also exists in the Russian Hockey League, the HC Chelny, which is based in the city of Naberezhnye Chelny. Another team plays in the MHL-B (the second level of junior ice hockey in Russia).

Nail Yakupov is an ethnic Tatar who was drafted first overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Former ATP No. 1 Marat Safin and former WTA number 1 Dinara Safina are of Tatar descent.

Victor Wild and Danil Sadreev are both Tatarstan Olympians, having won a bronze in parallel giant slalom and a silver in ski jumping, respectively.

Kazan hosted the XXVII Summer Universiade in 2013, the FINA World championship in aquatic sports in August 2015, and the World Junior Championship for swimming in 2022.
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