MINSK, 3 September (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko took part in a ceremony to inaugurate the children and youth football center of FC Dinamo Minsk on 3 September, BelTA has learned.
The head of state said that this season Dinamo Minsk is expected to win a medal in the national championship. The club management, thanking the president for his support, said that the results will surely be.
“If you show poor performance, you will be under my daily control. I will come here very often and both athletes and coaches will have it to the fullest,” Aleksandr Lukashenko warned. “You better play well. This year the third place is acceptable, not lower. Next year you have to be champions. You need to revitalize the Belarusian football. That is what I count on,” the head of state added.
According to the president, if Dinamo Minsk becomes a leader, other teams, even the current champions, will follow the club. BATE, Gomel and Shakhtyor will be different. They will not let Dinamo to be first. I want you to be the first. I want you to be a locomotive to pull other football teams,” said the head of state.
Oleg Dashkevich, General Director of Minskpromstroi (the company took part in the reconstruction of Dinamo-Yuni Stadium), presented the head of state with a symbolic key to the sports center. The president handed it over to FC Dinamo Minsk Director General Andrei Tolmach, who in turn handed the key to the Football Academy students.
The president was also given a souvenir - a jersey with FC Dinamo Minsk emblems. Then the head of state talked to FC Dinamo Minsk players and young athletes.
FC Dinamo Minsk did not have its own arena for training athletes and personnel. In 2008, the club took possession of Darida Stadium which was built in 2000. At the time of purchase the stadium was an outdated field with stands for 4,500 spectators.
The reconstruction of the facility began in 2011. The works were completed in June 2021. The stadium has three artificial turf pitches with external lighting, stands for 5,200 spectators, catering units, medical room, room for press conferences, doping control room, an administrative part with 13 hotel rooms for 28 persons for permanent residence and training of talented children from the regions of Belarus, two equipped classrooms and a gym.
The facility is home to the Dinamo Minsk Football Academy, a specialized children and youth school of the Olympic reserve, set up in 2015. The academy trains 370 children aged 5 to 18 in 26 groups, including two groups for girls, and also boasts a highly qualified coaching and teaching staff. UEFA licenses have been obtained by 21 persons.
