Belarus aims to continue co-operation with UEFA, taking part in major competitions, as Mr. Lukashenko notes on meeting Michel Platini, the President of the Union of European Football Associations
President Lukashenko thanked Mr. Platini for granting Belarus the right to host UEFA’s European Youth Championship for girls, in 2016. He noted, “You can be sure that we’ll hold it at the highest level.” He recalled Minsk’s hosting of the 2014 Ice Hockey World Championship, saying, “We’re determined to make this youth championship the best to date; you’ll see how we organise such activities and may then ask us to take on more serious football competitions.”
The Head of State thanked the UEFA President for paying such attention to Belarus and other developing states, including giving financial support to the Football Federation of Belarus (BFF). He emphasised, “The experts you send are really helping us develop our football. You can always count on us; we’ve always supported and will continue to support your undertakings to develop football, creating equal conditions for countries participating or wishing to participate in football competitions.”
Mr. Lukashenko added, “Football is one of the world’s most popular sports, with hundreds of millions — even billions — of fans. In our country, it leads in terms of participation but we are yet to achieve any exceptional results. We’ve been investing in football without seeing a ‘proper’ return: financial or in terms of victories.”
Michel Platini noted his knowledge of the attention being given to Belarusian football. “We keep a close eye on the achievements of the Belarusian team and believe that, in the future, Belarus could do better,” he said. The President of UEFA is satisfied with the relationship with the Head of Belarus and the Head of the Football Federation of Belarus. He notes, “I’m sure that, together, we can do much for football development in Belarus.”
By Mikhail Vetrov
