Opinions & Interviews

Ceferin: UEFA will help Belarus to develop football

Photo courtesy of the Belarusian Football Federation

MINSK, 19 September (BelTA) - UEFA will help the Belarusian Football Federation to develop the sport in the country, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin told a press conference at the House of Football, BelTA has learned.

Speaking about the new steps in this direction, the UEFA head noted that the organization will not only continue to assist in the development of infrastructure, primarily in the regions, but will also contribute to the training of Belarusian coaches. In his opinion, this will help create an effective system of training young players who will eventually show results. “Money alone is not enough. It is important to create a school, to move forward step by step, and the success will come,” Aleksander Ceferin said.

“During the visit I saw a huge interest in cooperation. We just need to give a small push and the development of Belarusian football will reach a new level,” the UEFA president noted.

When asked about the possible organization of large-scale competitions in the country, the high guest expressed confidence that Belarus is able to host sports events of the highest calibre.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has arrived in Belarus on his first visit. The UEFA head met with head of state Aleksandr Lukashenko, then held talks with Belarusian Football Federation Chairman Vladimir Bazanov on the possibility of holding the UEFA Super Cup final match in Minsk and Belarus' participation in other UEFA events.

Slovenian football functionary Alexander Ceferin was elected UEFA president in September 2016, succeeding Michel Platini.

Founded in 1954, UEFA is the governing body of European football and one of the six confederations of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). UEFA is an umbrella organization for 55 national associations. The organization is headquartered in Nyon, Switzerland. The Belarusian Football Federation joined the organization in 1993.

In 2019, Minsk played host for the UEFA Grassroots Conference for the first time. Taking part in the event were about 200 specialists from 55 European countries.

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