MINSK, 3 September (BelTA) – Football functionaries spend most of the budget funds on players' salaries. This is inadmissible, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a meeting to discuss the development of football and the sport industry in the country on 3 September, BelTA has learned.
“One can only wonder at your impudence: about 70% of all the funds is spent on salaries. How about development and maintenance? You think the government will deal with the rest? I would like to hear an explanation from you. Why was 70% of all the funds spent on salaries?” the president stressed.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said that sport functionaries always address him with all kinds of requests and that he has always met them halfway. Special attention was paid to preparations for the Tokyo Olympics. The athletes were provided with everything necessary, the president said. "We know the result. I understand that the competition has become tougher, that we are unlikely to run faster than athletes from Africa. But we always did well in technical sports, such as athletics. Where are these schools?" the president asked.
He also criticized the state of affairs in cycling and ice hockey. The problem lies in coaches, Aleksandr Lukashenko is convinced. "If there is no coach, there will be no sport. And the coaches, my dear heads of federations, are your responsibility," the head of state noted.
Belarus was 90th on the FIFA ranking in 2003. Today it ranks 89th. "A great improvement," Aleksandr Lukashenko quipped.
This season, four Belarusian teams played in the UEFA Conference League, and failed miserably in the first rounds. This is the third division of European competitions, the president noted.
