Georgian PM: Cartu Charity Foundation initiative on rewards for national football team’s performance at Euro 2024 “highly appreciated”

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday said he “highly appreciated” the Cartu Charity Foundation’s initiative to set a ₾30 million ($11 mln) reward for the country’s national football team for qualifying for the playoffs of the 2024 European Football Championship.

Kobakhidze’s comments to the media followed the Foundation’s announcement of the award for the squad if it managed to reach the playoff round of the upcoming competition earlier today.

The foundation added it would also reward the team with ₾30 million ($11 million) for each subsequent win at the Championship.

In his comments, the PM extended his gratitude to the Foundation and its founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, the former Prime Minister and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

We very much hope that our team will advance as far as possible in the European Championship. All of us are very supportive of our national team”, he said.

The PM also noted the Government’s newly announced plans for building a 70,000-capacity football stadium in Georgia’s capital city of Tbilisi, with a goal of the venue hosting the 2028 final of the UEFA Champions League, was an “expression of [the state’s] special support for sports”.

[W]e need a 70,000-capacity stadium to provide maximum comfort to our fans and to be able to host top level matches in our capital. These plans are entirely related to our motivation to contribute to the development of the sport as much as possible”, he added.

Kobakhidze also contrasted the former United National Movement Government’s rule with the current policies, claiming the previous Government had “destroyed sports infrastructure and severely interfered in sports”.

[T]his led to the fact that Georgian sports did not progress for nine years - on the contrary, it went back compared to the 90s”, he claimed.

The PM also recalled the sale of the football base Norchi Dinamoeli in Tbilisi’s Didube district by saying the venue had been a “unique complex with its unique history, where all generations of Dinamo Tbilisi players grew up, and this area was simply taken and sold” under the former Government.

The PM noted his office would “do our best” to promote the development of domestic sports, adding the Foundation had also “invested a lot in Georgian sports, including tens of millions” spent on the development of rugby infrastructure and other directions.