The chairman of the HFR High Council Sergey Shishkarev commented on the decision that the women’s European championship won’t be held in Russia.
— Taking into consideration the fact, that I was the main initiator and inspirer of filing the Russian application for hosting the 2026 European women’s Cup, of course, there is a frustration that it will be moved to another country. As soon as I headed the HFR, I immediately set the task to arrange a major tournament in Russia with participation of the strongest European athletes. Extensive work has been done, and the EHF duly appreciated it and entrusted Russia to host European Cup. In the past eight years we have successfully held Junior, Youth and Beach World Championships in Ekaterinburg, Moscow and Kazan. However, we clearly understand that it will very difficult to meet all necessary criteria, related to international aspects of preparation in current conditions. First and foremost, it goes about inspection visits of the EHF experts, organizing the arrival of teams and fans from other countries and a set of mandatory procedures. Preparation for the European Championship involves several stages that need to be fulfilled in time. Literally yesterday we had a video conference with the EHF leadership, and we agreed that the tournament will be held in another country. It doesn’t mean that we gave up the idea to host the World or European Cup in Russia. This challenge remains the same, and I am sure we will be able to implement it in other terms, — Sergey Shishkarev said.
Photo: the HFR press
