TIRANA, January 30/ATA/ There has begun in Tirana the U-16 National Volleyball Championship.
Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj delivered a greeting speech to the participating teams in this competition saying that both the Volleyball Association and the Basketball Associations are two model associations.
“Where there is cooperation, where there is transparency, where the president and secretary of the Association are elected by free, fair elections and voted by a list of delegates, whose names everyone knows, in the end they create a model association like the Albanian Association of Volleyball. On the contrary, an association that steals its own elections, of course steals the result of the match, makes fixtures, and turns the selection of talented sportsmen that will join the national team into a kind of tender” said the mayor.
Veliaj took the opportunity to explain once again his battle with the Albanian Football Association.
“When they ask me why do I get involved in these debates, the answer I give is this: If the mayor sees an injustice and does not react, who will react? A physical education teacher loses his certification if he does; a player loses his card, a team that reacts falls out of the division if the one who runs the Association is not transparent, is immoral, sells the players, the matches, sells the “fair play”. If the whole society comes together, if the whole society supports what is right, if the whole society stands up to have justice in every place where sports are played, then there will be ‘fair play’ in every field of Albania,” he stressed.
Veliaj closed his speech by highlighting the fact that the Albanian government has given the largest sports grant in 100 years.
“Today, we enjoy these activities, but this gym was not here. The other gym in Farka, where the other matches are being played, was not there. The Olympic Park was not there. It means that where there is a will and cooperation we can do good work. Before Fidel Ylli took over the Olympic Committee we had a situation when there was no communication at all. In the Olympic Games of Rio De Janeiro, half of the Olympic team refused to enter the race as our Olympic team sold and bought races, sold and bought players, blocked those who could not afford to pay. While today, Briken Calja is a world champion in weightlifting, Luiza Gega is second in Manchester, “said Veliaj. /k.s/j.p/p.s./
