“All teams can win the Cup”

Present at the official press conference of the 19th Final Four of the Women’s Handball Cup in Igoumenitsa on Friday were representatives of OHE, the co-organizers from the Regional Unit of Thesprotia, the Municipality of Igoumenitsa and, of course, the coaches and captains of the four finalists.

What was said in detail:

Yannis Karabinas (member of the Board of Directors of OHE): “Happy birthday and happy new year. Welcome to beautiful Epirus and Igoumenitsa. We made a great effort to bring handball to the province and it was an effort of several years that we tried to implement. I believe that the 19th Women’s Handball Cup Final Four will be the best both in terms of organization and competitive beauty and will bring handball a step forward.

I would like to thank Thomas Pitoulis, who is also my friend, as well as the Mayor, Yiannis Lolos, for the excellent hospitality. Everything is going very well and we hope that by the end everyone will leave happy. Good luck to all teams. I would like to thank the local team Olympic Academy of Igoumenitsa for their unwavering support and all the people who have helped us. OHE has gone so far as to form unions in many cities, we now have one in Igoumenitsa, soon in Kalamata.

Yesterday, we had a primary school tournament, we will have development actions tomorrow and the day after tomorrow from associations of Igoumenitsa, Ioannina, Arta, Corfu, you understand the weight the Federation gives to development. We, for our part, will try to help so that we can all go one step forward together.”

Thomas Pitoulis (Deputy Governor of Thesprotia): “Welcome to Igoumenitsa. From the first moment that OHE asked us to organize the Final Four, we “embraced” it with the aim of giving our best. We did the best we could. Let’s wish the teams good luck and may the best man win.

Of course, just that the clubs are in the ‘4’ best is a significant achievement. Thank you again. I wish you a happy new year and a good stay.”

Ioannis Lolos (Mayor of Igoumenitsa): “Happy New Year. With great pleasure we accepted the proposal to organize the Final Four of the Women’s Handball Cup in our city. It is the first time that a final has been held here and I hope that it will be the beginning of other such events. We have done our best to provide all the requirements that the league has and, together with our partners, I think we have done our best and I hope that you will all leave here happy with the infrastructure that you will see and enjoy.

Have a good stay, let’s have a good event, in the context of fair competition. We hope that the best will win and that your impressions at the end will be the most positive.”

Despina Zeibekoglou (President of PAKPPO): “Happy New Year. We are all very happy about the event. We made a big effort to be ready at all levels. I wish all the athletes to give their best and the fans to enjoy the games.”

Stelios Seirekidis (coach of Renaissance Arta): “Let’s thank Igoumenitsa and all the contributors. In terms of competition, I think we have a difficult game. Our players will give something extra to get the result we want”.

Vasso Skara (Renaissance leader): “To thank the local bodies. Our goal is to overcome a big rival, like PAOK. Although we have a difficult task, I believe we can overcome ourselves. It will be one of the most competitive Final Fours ever.”

Dimitris Pelekidis (PAOK coach): “I would like to thank, on behalf of the club, all the competent bodies of Igoumenitsa and the Regional Unit of Thesprotia for organizing this Final-4. May this be the beginning of the development of the sport in the region here, because our sport really needs it, not only in the urban centers, but also in areas that are remote, so that we can develop and take the step further.

I would like to wish all the teams the best of luck, a fantastic tournament, injury free. Regarding the competitive aspect, we face the Arta team, a team that has a very long history in the sport, there is respect for this team. For us, our goal is one, in this Final-4 we claim the fifth consecutive Cup and the seventh in our history, but everything will start tomorrow from the first semi-final.

We all know that there are no favorites in this kind of tournament. If you don’t give your best you can definitely be in for a surprise, that’s why we are 100% prepared. For us, the most important game is tomorrow, we will give everything we have to qualify for the final.”

Maria Hatziparasidou (PAOK captain): “I won’t say very different things from my coach. I want to thank, in turn, all the responsible bodies of the organization of this Final-4. I would like to say about this two-day event that it will be competitive, let all the teams be healthy and let the best win”.

Yannis Andalis (AEK technician): “First of all, let’s thank the Municipality and the Region, but also all the organizations for the Final 4. Congratulations, also, to all the teams that are here, because they wanted luck, but above all, ability. There are teams that have strengthened since the beginning of the season and all tried, in turn, to qualify for the finals of the competition.

Competitively, we are not the favourites, but we will exhaust every possibility of qualification and I hope we can do it. Finally, I hope that this celebration will end as a celebration, without unexpected injuries and that the best team will win the Cup”.

Anastasia Panagiotidou (leader of AEK): “First of all, thanks for the hospitality. I want to say that it really is a historic moment for the AEK team. We will give our best. We have nothing to lose, only to gain. At the end of the event, I want it to be a good advertisement for the sport for the sport and to raise the level.”

Sasha Zibulovic (coach of OFN Ionia): “I would like to thank all the agencies for their hospitality. They are four teams with the same goal and quite strong compared to last year. We want to be healthy and fit. N. Ionia always has high goals, something we will do in this Final Four as well. Good luck to all the teams.”

Magda Kepesidou (head of OFN Ionia): “We are faithful to the traditions and present in another Final Four and I am especially happy, because both AEK and PAOK are strengthened compared to last year and we will all enjoy these matches quite a bit. Good luck to everyone and needless to say no injuries, because we are very well trained and everything will be fine.”