On the occasion of the New Year the Chairman of the HFR High Council Sergey Shishkarev appealed to handball family: players, coaches, fans, to everyone who works in our sport and supports handball.
"Dear friends! On behalf of the Handball Federation of Russia and on my own behalf, I congratulate you with the 2024 New Year and Christmas!
The passing year wasn’t easy for our handball community. In the absence of official international matches, we tried to provide all the national teams of Russia with game practice, though initially it was a complicated task. In the current geopolitical situation many national teams refused to play in control matches with Russia. However, the matches with the rivals from Belarus, China and several other countries were exciting and useful. Already in early January an international tournament Olimpbet Cup of Friendship will be held in Moscow with participation of the first and youth national teams of Russia and representatives of Iran and Belarus.
It should be mentioned that the level of domestic tournaments remains very high. The competition in the men’s and women’s championships of Russia is quite serious, and it’s difficult to predict the winner. We realize, how important it is to work on qualitative training of national athletes at this stage in order to maintain the appropriate level of all Russian tournaments without exceptions. The HFR is conducting meticulous work on the development of handball in regions, the results of which are already visible. We observe a growing interest in our sport in Kemerovo, where the match for Super Cup of Russia was successfully held in August, in Bryansk and on Sakhalin.
It’s necessary to survive the present situation with minimal losses. SEHA-League, involving the strongest men’s teams from Russia and Belarus, contributes to it, among other things. This tournament partly solves the issue of match practice for our best players. Undoubtedly, the HFR makes every effort for early return of Russia to the international arena. And we hope it will happen soon.
I sincerely thank all handball fans for your support of favorite sport and our teams in this difficult time. We’ll become stronger and more successful. And it means that the coming 2024 year will be event-driven, happy and joyful! I wish you all health, success and prosperity! Happy New Year! Take care of yourself!" — the statement of Sergey Shishkarev says.
Photo: rushandball.ru
