Low stamina seen as major problem of Belarusian athletes

Belarusian football players need to work on their stamina, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during a meeting with the BRSM Youth Union activists, who took part in the reconstruction of Traktor Stadium, on 14 November, BelTA has learned.

"Low stamina of athletes is a major problem. They are not ready to perform at the highest level in certain sports. Footballers cannot last a full 90 minutes. They cannot run at a high tempo for 90 minutes, let alone think. Football has become a very fast game," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

According to him, small sports grounds, where children exercise, are the points of growth for Belarusian sport. It is there where coaches should timely notice talents. "We already have a lot of grounds. But the main thing is to capture children's interest. We need to start working with 6-7 year olds. In some sports, such as rhythmic gymnastics, even from the age of three," the president noted. "It will be difficult for 10-15 year-old children to start. Possible, but difficult."

The children asked the head of state about his most vivid impressions of football. The president said that when he was a school student, they played football on a village field. All children in the village were fond of football, and there were quite a few of them. Aleksandr Lukashenko said he continued playing football in his student days.

Source