GFF General Secretary David Mujiri and Vice-President Kakha Chumburidze held a press-conference in the media centre at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium on 3 November with regards to the international tournament that will be held in Tbilisi on 9-14 November.
The GFF representatives spoke about the importance of the said tournament, as well as the upcoming 2017 European Under-19 Championship, which will also be staged in Georgia.
David Mujiri: “As you know, Georgia will be hosting the 2017 European Under-19 Championship finals, which will take place on 2-15 July. With regards to our preparations for this challenge, we are organising an international tournament on 9-14 November in Tbilisi and Gori, where the Georgian side will face counterparts from Spain, France and Netherlands. It was important for us to invite strong sides to this tournament, as we will be facing the continent’s elite teams at the European Championships. Indeed, the three teams that agreed to visit Georgia in November themselves belong to the elite, not only at this age level, but at the senior level, too. I am also happy to announce that two individual awards will be handed out at this tournament – the David Kipiani award for the tournament’s best player, and the Ramaz Shengelia award for the top scorer. We wish the Georgian national side all the best for the Euro 2017, and hope that the upcoming international tournament will serve as useful preparation.”
Kakha Chumburidze: “We have not been spoiled with such events in the past. This is truly a very important tournament, and we are viewing it as a preparatory stage for Euro 2017. The participating teams require no introduction, as we all know how strong their sides are at all age levels. Therefore, the coaches will have a great opportunity to assess the squad. The core of our team has already been established, and as for the rest, we shall see who will be able to strengthen the squad, as we seek to perform worthily at the European Championship.”