Georgian PM highlights “historic” upcoming Euro 2024 match for national team

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday highlighted the “historic” first match of the country’s national football team at the ongoing European Championship in Germany by saying the game marked “the day that each of us has been waiting for many years”.

Kobakhidze said the game against Turkey, set to be played in Dortmund on Tuesday, would see the “Georgian flag [being] raised, the Georgian anthem [...] played and [...] incredible emotion”.

He further added his Government's initiative to subsidise airline tickets for Georgian fans at lower prices had made it more affordable for them to attend matches of the team at the tournament.

We have players to be proud of, and I want to wish them all the best”, Kobakhidze concluded.

He also added it was “regrettable” that President Salome Zourabichvili had decided to “remove” officials and staff of the Georgian Football Federation from a list recognising special contribution to the development of the national team.

Kobakhidze and Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili in March asked the country’s President to award the team with the Medal of Honour state prize after their first-ever qualification for a major international tournament.

The national team will also play against the Czech Republic on June 22 and Portugal on June 26.