Italy is facing the dramatic days in fighting with corona virus. More than 1.000 people lost their lives in the last few days.
Here are the statement of the Italian Handball Federation president, Pasquale Loria.
Statement from Italian Handball Federation President…
Dear Handball Friends,
we are experiencing an incredible story, which none of us would have ever remotely imagined and which, as I said on another occasion, nobody was prepared to face. As everyone knows, the country is closed, the Government of the Italian Republic has had to take exceptional measures, never seen before in any Democracy, except in times of war. The World Health Organization has called the phenomenon “pandemic”, or global epidemic.
Italy is the outpost of this worldwide spread of the infection, perhaps it means that we can get out of the tunnel of the health crisis first, but it also means that today our country is the most affected and suffering. Sport does not escape the harshness of the crisis and is not immune from contagion, but like all economic and social activities it cannot and must not be demobilized. Stop, but resist to resume as soon as possible, with the enthusiasm and passion that have always distinguished us.
The Olympic Committee, through Our President Giovanni Malagò, has promoted coordination between the Federations of team sports, both in order to avoid, as in the first moment of understandable heeling, diversified and contradictory solutions, and to accredit the the entire national sports movement as a single and cohesive entity with the political authorities, to request government support, including economic support, as well as other sectors literally brought to their knees by this extraordinary event.
We at Handball have always been used to living with difficulties and, therefore, I am sure that we will show great courage and compactness even in this desperate moment. We are aware, as the Federal Council, of the enormous difficulties facing our Affiliates, the closure of the facilities, the management of off-site athletes, the legitimate concern of families, the management burdens that continue to burden as funding begins to fade . But the role of government that we play imposes responsibility on us, we must reason at 360 degrees always keeping the prospect of tomorrow in the foreground, even where the present is, as in this case, difficult.
It is not the time to waste energy, to hypothesize extreme solutions, to seek impromptu shortcuts, to get overwhelmed by despair as from opportunism, but to stay united and to preserve the heritage represented by Our Athletes.
The direction we have given ourselves during the coordination between CONI and Federations is that we must be ready to resume as soon as possible and bring the sports season to a conclusion in ways that are now objectively difficult to determine.
The President Malagò, as per the attached letter , has pledged to synthesize everyone’s requests and bring them to the government, but the condition for which this action can be successful is that the Sports Movement remains firmly anchored to its great values.
Long live handball, long live sport, long live Italy.
Pasquale Loria
President of FIGH
