Ceremony to inaugurate children and youth football center of FC Dinamo Minsk

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko attended a ceremony to inaugurate the children and youth football center of FC Dinamo Minsk on 3 September.

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.

After the opening ceremony of the center, the head of state talked with the main players of the club and young football players. He noted that the country can invite a certain number of foreign players but should, first of all, nurture its own athletes. "We need results. 

Whoever the President is, me or someone else, will still demand the result," the Belarusian leader stressed, wishing the athletes success.

The state will support Belarusian football players, but they must show results, Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

“You have chosen to play this beautiful game, the most popular in our country and around the world. You will never succeed if you think only about money. You have to come here to play football. If you strive for this, you will be rewarded at the initial stage in order to live a normal live. I promise you this. The state will provide it to you," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The President stressed that the results come only through hard work and commitment. "If you want to play, then play. You have to do this every day from morning to evening. You have to sleep with the ball. If you do not understand this, you are not football players," the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that in the past the athletes did not have such training conditions as today, they could only dream about it. And they showed results. “All this infrastructure has been built thanks to the Belarusian people. I want you to remember that. You will understand and remember it only if you are encouraged to do so by your coaches. Everything depends on the coach. An athlete can do whatever the coach teaches him. No coach means no team, no athlete,” the President said. He added that the work of the administrative apparatus also raises questions.

The head of state wished the young players to be patriots because they play for the people, not for the government. Athletes should start thinking about their future at a young age, the President said. An athlete’s career is short. “During this period you should not only learn how to play and earn some money for the future. You should also get good education to be ready for the life after sport. The life of an athlete is extremely hard. You have made your choice however. Try to live your life decently, to the fullest. At this very age, you are developing yourselves as individuals,” he said.

“If you are ready to become true athletes and love your country, you can always count on the state’s support,” the Belarusian leader said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko criticized the current state of affairs in Belarusian football.

“Such poor performance of Belarusian football players is inadmissible,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.

The President explained that he does not mean only the “outstanding” performance of Belarusian football players against the Czech Republic. “I asked the senior officials of the federation why they allowed to youth team to play yesterday. They did not even go there to play. Please remember it. It will be a lesson for you,” the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko spoke about the latest results of Belarusian football players in international matches.

"Why did we see yesterday? It seemed our football players took the field to relax. I was ashamed to see them playing against Iceland," the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also reiterated his requirement to show results and returns on the state investments in sport. He inquired about the average salary of the players of FC Dinamo Minsk. The President was informed that now it is $4,000-5,000, but these are under the old contracts that are in force. With new contracts, it will amount to Br8,000 under new contracts. 

The President believes that inefficient work with the reserve is the main problem of Belarusian sport. In his opinion, football will have no future without it. “Please do your best. The state will always support and help you, but we need good results. There will be no support without results,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

Speaking about Belarusian sport in general, the head of state remarked that the state of affairs in physical education and amateur sport is okay, but elite sport is in bad condition. “Where are good young athletes? They get lost in the main team. Please make a difference,” the President said.

For example, FC Dinamo Minsk has the main squad. Besides, the club’s reserve includes three generations of players. They train in the Football Academy. “The whole system has been built. We need results,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added.

Aleksandr Lukashenko had a long and detailed conversation with the club's veterans to discuss the approaches to coaching, financing of football, the modern game and, importantly, the education of athletes in the spirit of patriotism.

Yesterday's poor performances of the national football teams was also brought up. "I saw how young players did yesterday. I don't know why they took the field at all. They did not play at all," the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said that yesterday there were a lot of attack failures, the players did not try to keep the ball and sometimes shot almost at random.

He stated that sometimes people start comparing the development level of football in Belarus and in Russia: “You see, in Russia there are 140-150 million people and we have only 10 million people in Belarus.” The President said that Iceland, whose team beat the Belarusian U21 team the day before, has only several hundred thousand inhabitants.

The President emphasized a great role and responsibility of coaches. “Let us take trampoline gymnastics as an example. [Head coach of the national team Olga] Vlasova is a true dictator there. Strict discipline. She molds them into Olympic champions. She has order in everything,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

He stressed that every region of the country has great football pitches, a lot of money has been invested there. “In short, something has to be done about football. We have the infrastructure. We will not build anything else. We have other things to spend money on. We need to raise people's salaries in the first place,” the head of state said.

“Money is no object. We will spare no expense, but you must produce good results,” the Belarusian leader stressed. He remarked that young football players are sometimes spoilt by this huge money and “do not see the ball”.

“You may lose, but please give it your all. Today sport is like war, and you must be prepared for this war,” the President said when speaking about the perseverance and will that every athlete needs. Not only have they forgotten how to play, they do not have enough sports anger, he said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko encouraged club veterans to play a bigger role in the development of their sport, give advice and take part in the training process.

Honored Master of Sport and coach, USSR champion Eduard Malofeyev agreed with the President and stressed that it is not enough just to play football, you must also love the game: “When you ask a guy, a coach if they love football, they say they do. When you look at the results, you don’t see it. If you love it, you play well. If you don’t play well, you don’t love the game.”

He also mentioned the spiritual and moral development of athletes which must be also included in the training process.

The head of state also held meeting to discuss the development of football and sport in general in Belarus.

"The state invests huge amounts of money in the development of all sports. Almost all athletes live off the government today. This is probably one of the reasons why we are not doing well in elite sport.

Everything is fine, there is no need to knock on doors looking for sponsorships. The state will provide everything,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “There are no results yet, especially in football. Neither in hockey, and in other sports.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that Belarus needs to show better results at the next Olympics in Paris than in Tokyo.

"The Olympic Games in Paris will take place literally in three years. There will be no one and nothing to blame. The climate there is very similar to ours. Even better,” the President said and urged to show better results than in Tokyo.

At the Olympics in Tokyo, some Belarusian athletes could not even confirm their previous results, though they were considered medal hopefuls. Meanwhile, mediocre athletes suddenly began to set out some conditions, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted. 

"It is a mess. It is a lack of discipline," the President emphasized.

According to the head of state, football functionaries spend most of the budget funds on players' salaries.

“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.

The head of state said that good athletes will be paid good salaries. They will be expected to show results in return.

“It is not true that we will not pay good athletes. We will pay good money. We will find it for this purpose. But if there is no result, don't even expect anything. You will be held responsible for the money spent on you. I am addressing these words to sports functionaries. There will be no more crazy money. I hope you will sort the salary system out," the Belarusian leader warned.

Aleksandr Lukashenko explained that an athlete playing for a team, competing in a particular sport can expect only an average salary. "Anything extra will depend on results. There will be no more crazy money. I do not want to stand before the people and make excuses when they ask why we pay money to the athletes who are a sorry sight to watch," the head of state said.

The President is convinced that among young Belarusian athletes there are talented jumpers, javelin throwers, hammer throwers and shot putters. They have already been showing good results at youth world championships. “Nurture them. People need to see that we spend money on them and they win medals at major competitions. Do not forget, however, that a particular athlete can show one level today and an absolutely different one tomorrow. Other athletes should be coached as substitutes when it is needed,” stressed Aleksandr Lukashenko.

The head of state said that athletes should also be patriots. They should not think only about financial rewards only. “They should think about bringing honor to the country. It means honor for them, too. We never forget our winners, champions. We have always supported them. You need a system. Sport should serve as a vehicle for social mobility. God forbid I learn that someone gets into sport thanks to bribes while a talented person is left behind. It is unacceptable! Everything needs to be done in an honest and fair way. Only then an athlete will understand what he is competing for,” the President said.

“According to the official data, there are 23,000 professional football players in Belarus. Why can’t you select 20 best players from these 23,000? The current state of affairs in football is inadmissible,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

According to the President, the same is relevant for other sports. Therefore, the meeting has brought together football functionaries as well as heads of ice hockey, cycling, shooting, swimming, athletics, fencing federations.

“I want all of you to build a system. The books that you have handed over to me are okay. Programs and plans are okay. But we need results. Apart from the results, every coach should train 2-3 talented athletes. If they fail to train such athletes and produce good results, they should not be coaches,” the head of state said.