SARGSYAN TO ATTEND MATCH IF NOTHING EXTRAORDINARY HAPPENS
News.am
13:36 / 10/12/2009
"If nothing extraordinary happens in the near future, I will attend the
Armenia-Turkey football match in Bursa," RA President Serzh Sargsyan
told journalists before leaving for Moscow.
Early October 12, the Armenian national team headed by Ruben
Hayrapetyan, President of the Armenian Football Federation (AFF),
left for Bursa, where the Turkey-Armenia match is due on October
14. The qualifying match to be held at the Ataturk stadium is the
final match of the World Cup 2010. Armenian journalists accompanied
the Armenian national team.
The first Armenia-Turkey match was held September 6, 2008 in Yerevan,
where the Armenian team was defeated 0:2. Although, the Turkish team
failed to participate in the World Cup in UAE, it will be a serious
test for the Armenian national team. The Turkish team playing at home
will try to do its best to make up for the lost rounds on a positive
note. The historic implication is always present at sporting face-offs
between the two countries.
The Bursa match is part of a significant political processes termed as
"football diplomacy". President of Turkey Abdullah Gul attended the
match in Yerevan at the invitation of RA President Serzh Sargsyan. The
Turkish leader made a return curtsy by officially inviting Sargsyan
to attend the match in Bursa. However, it is not clear yet, whether
RA President will attend the match or not, as his decision has
been dependent on the recent developments in the Armenia-Turkey
normalization process and the signing of Protocols.
NEWS.am special corresponded left for Bursa with the Armenian
delegation.