TIRANA, December 31 /ATA/ – President of the Albanian Football Federation Armand Duka in his message of the New Year 2021 said today that, “We are leaving behind a difficult year for the whole society and especially for Albanian football”.
“I wish with all my heart that the year 2021 turns the page of history and will be completely different from the year 2020” said Duka.
“At first, the November 2019 earthquake and then the Covid-19 pandemic tested us hard, but we did not give up. We raised funds and now we have started the reconstruction of four houses with donations provided by the partner federation and the national team”, he emphasized.
“At the height of the quarantine imposed by the pandemic, we were close to the football community, which was abandoned in the most painful way by the government, providing two salaries for football employees everywhere in Albania through the football solidarity package. We resumed all competitions and showed that we are capable of managing every football activity by respecting sanitary protocols. The national team closed a fantastic edition in terms of results, getting the maximum in the Nations League. Albanian clubs also made a very good appearance in European competitions”, added Duka.
“This difficult year actually ended with fantastic news for Albanians. The UEFA Executive Committee decided that the first final of the newest European competition for Conference Clubs League will be played at the stadium “Air Albania” in Tirana in May 2022. A historic achievement that makes us proud and for which we should all rejoice. We are looking forward to show the world one of the most distinctive features of Albanians, such as hospitality”, underlined Duka.
“I wish with all my heart that the consequences of the pandemic fade and the civilized world triumphs over this invisible evil that created so many problems for humanity,” Duka said./p.s./
