The football tournament in the Presevo Valley concluded last night, marking the successful completion of an event fully supported by the Albanian Football Association. The final matches were attended by the Association’s President, Armand Duka, who also had a warm and friendly conversation with the children participating in the tournament.
Following the medal and trophy award ceremony for the winners, President Duka gave a brief statement to the media present at the event.
The head of Albanian football described his first visit to the Presevo Valley as a very emotional experience and emphasized that the aim of the tournament is to promote football and encourage children to play the game.
He thanked the organizers for their cooperation, as well as the mayors of Bujanoc and Presevo, and noted that there may be new projects in the future.
Visit to Presevo – It is a pleasure and an emotional experience for me to be here today. The goal of AFA, its mission, is to motivate children to play football, wherever they live. This tournament takes place beyond Albania’s state borders, it has its own specific characteristics, but it has no political purpose other than to promote football.
Football speaks only one language, the language of sport, of the ball, of the goal, and of respect: for teammates, opponents, the game, and oneself. Through the game, we aim to build bridges of communication, send messages of peace and cooperation, and to provide the best possible education for our children wherever they live.
I want to thank the initiators and organizers, the AFA staff who collaborated to make this event a success, and the mayors of Bujanoc and Presevo for their engagement and support. This can be considered the beginning of a new form of organization.
In the discussions we’ve had with all football stakeholders in the Valley, we will develop new cooperative projects to be closer to the children, to the talents, and to make their sporting lives even better.
Discussions with Mayors in Presevo and Bujanoc – I want to thank the mayors and their teams for the warm welcome. Even in our meetings, I emphasized that we are not here as state representatives, we are here as representatives of football, and our goal is to collaborate with everyone to create, as much as we can, better conditions for playing football.
I believe we will build sustainable projects for the future.
Children’s Requests – Their desires are well-known, they want better infrastructure. Our role is to see what we can do to support that. I believe we’ll establish a long-term relationship with the local sports community, not only for infrastructure but also for coaching education, and by providing support such as sports kits and footballs.
