Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my great pleasure to join today my dear friend, prime minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki,
in announcing the joint Polish/Slovenian co-hosting of the 2022 World Volleyball Championship for men.
The International Volleyball Federation has recognized rich sporting potential of our two countries
and the role we are playing in facing the atrocities we are witnessing in Ukraine by the Russian aggressors.
Taking into account current political circumstances the event could of course no longer take place in Russia.
This is something we could have never allowed.
That's why we decided to organise it elsewhere.
The main motivation for our decision was that we wanted the Russian aggressors
and not the rest of the sporting world, to be held accountable.
Thanks to our swift and decisive joint decision the event will take place in Poland and Slovenia
without the participation of the Russian volleyball players.
We are glad that our strong friendship with Poland
will be expressed in the organisation of such a large and prestigious sporting event
that will bring together best men volleyball players from around the world.
Slovenian sport is the story about the love for sports.
It is a story of passion, dedication and teamwork.
And it is a success story.
Volleyball has been among the most successful sports in my country.
Slovenia's volleyball euphoria has been there for quite some time.
Our players won the first silver medal at the 2015 Men's European Championship in Bulgaria and Italy.
We have, together with Belgium, the Netherlands and France,
co-hosted the European championship in 2019 and won the silver medal.
Our players showed exceptional performance.
Slovenia also proved to be a good organizer having all the necessary infrastructure
for such a big sporting event, bringing together so many players and thousands of fans.
Our sports community is based on the values of open competition, fair play, respect, solidarity and integrity.
These are values that the whole world is calling for today.
And these are the values that will surely be at the forefront of the 2022 World Volleyball Championship.
I would like to take this advantage of this opportunity to sincerely thank all Slovenian volleyball players
who have with their results put the name of Slovenia on the top of world's sports achievements.
Next Volleyball Championship will certainly be a unique sporting event.
Today we therefore invite all 24 national teams from across the globe
and their fans to participate in this year's World Volleyball Championship
which will take place in safe and peace-loving European countries.
You are all warmly welcome in Slovenia.
Thank you for your attention.