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Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

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It is my great pleasure to join today my dear friend,
prime minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, 

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in announcing the joint Polish/Slovenian co-hosting
of the 2022 World Volleyball Championship for men.

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The International Volleyball Federation has recognized
rich sporting potential of our two countries 

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and the role we are playing in facing the atrocities we are witnessing in Ukraine by the Russian aggressors. 

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Taking into account current political circumstances
the event could of course no longer take place in Russia. 

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This is something we could have never allowed.

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That's why we decided to organise it elsewhere.

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The main motivation for our decision was
that we wanted the Russian aggressors

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and not the rest of the sporting world,
to be held accountable. 

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Thanks to our swift and decisive joint decision
the event will take place in Poland and Slovenia

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without the participation
of the Russian volleyball players. 

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We are glad that our strong friendship with Poland

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will be expressed in the organisation of such a large
and prestigious sporting event

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that will bring together best
men volleyball players from around the world. 

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Slovenian sport is the story
about the love for sports.

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It is a story of passion,
dedication and teamwork.

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And it is a success story. 

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Volleyball has been among
the most successful sports in my country.

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Slovenia's volleyball euphoria
has been there for quite some time.

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Our players won the first silver medal at the 2015
Men's European Championship in Bulgaria and Italy.

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We have, together with Belgium,
the Netherlands and France,

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co-hosted the European championship
in 2019 and won the silver medal. 

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Our players showed
exceptional performance. 

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Slovenia also proved to be a good organizer
having all the necessary infrastructure

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for such a big sporting event, bringing together
so many players and thousands of fans. 

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Our sports community is based on the values of
open competition, fair play, respect, solidarity and integrity. 

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These are values that the whole
world is calling for today. 

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And these are the values that will surely be at the
forefront of the 2022 World Volleyball Championship.

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I would like to take this advantage of this opportunity
to sincerely thank all Slovenian volleyball players

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who have with their results put the name
of Slovenia on the top of world's sports achievements. 

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Next Volleyball Championship
will certainly be a unique sporting event.

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Today we therefore invite all
24 national teams from across the globe

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and their fans to participate in this
year's World Volleyball Championship

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which will take place in safe
and peace-loving European countries.

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You are all warmly
welcome in Slovenia. 

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Thank you for your attention.