The programme, launched in 2003, encourages national associations to improve their football infrastructure, to distribute revenue from UEFA’s European Championship to the member associations for investment in football development projects.

During the meeting of the HatTrick Committee of UEFA, held in close cooperation with the Albanian Football Association (FSHF), there was made a balance of implementation of the investments and projects important in the development of European sport.

Attending this meeting was Minister of Education and Sports Evis Kushi, who in her welcoming speech expressed satisfaction that this committee meets for the first time in Albania and underlined the importance of infrastructure and professional investments that have been made in our country through this program.

It is worth mentioning that thanks to the HatTrick program, there are made large investments in Albania, such as those of the stadiums “Elbasan Arena”, “Loro Boriçi”, “Air Albania”, that of Kukës which is expected to be finished soon.

Speaking about the special attention and support that the Albanian government has given to sports, Minister Kushi said that, “We are determined to continue our projects for the development of sports in general and sports education in particular, in order to raise a new healthy generation”.

The UEFA delegation, led by Chairman of the HatTrick Committee Karl-Erik Nilsson, who is also the Vice President of UEFA, visited the premises of the Football House and got acquainted with the investments that FSHF has made in this complex.

The meeting of this Committee took place in the premises of the Football House where HatTrick members also inaugurated the football museum, getting acquainted with a part of the history of Albanian football.

“This activity for me is historical because it comes after a difficult time of pandemic. We have made many meetings online and finally today we meet for the first time, after a period of almost two years physically and I wish this difficult period of COVID has passed “, said Duka.

President of the Albanian Football Association Armand Duka holds the position of Vice-Chairman of the HatTrick Committee where he was elected in 2017.

In the course of 17 years of the HatTrick program, UEFA has funded more than 1,500 projects of great financial value, turning HatTrick into the largest program for football development and solidarity./p.s./