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During the press conference held on Tuesday at the Vilnius "Žalgiris" stadium before the departure to the Faroe Islands, a significant amount of time was devoted to the activities of the Lithuanian Football Federation, discussed by the federation's president Liutauras Varanavicius.
L.Varanavicius announced that the final of the LFF Cup will most likely be held in Kaunas. It is expected that many fans from Marijampole will travel to the temporary capital for the final match between Sūduva and Ekranas from Panevėžys.
The president of LFF also discussed a very relevant topic - refereeing. He mentioned that the federation is preparing a project according to which referees would be trained and appointed for matches not by the Lithuanian Football Referees Association, but by LFF.
"Perhaps this way there will be less room for various interpretations of match results," the president said. "We promise to change the evaluation of referees as well. Maybe the federation will take care of it, with employees working longer, but perhaps achieving more objectivity. How can it be that referees' work is evaluated by referees from the same association?"
L.Varanavicius was pleased that two additional football fields were opened in Kaunas next to the existing football arena. The president stated that children's groups will be selected as early as December, marking the beginning of the first football academy in Lithuania.
The president of LFF also mentioned that five more football academies are planned: in Naujoji Vilnia, Panevėžys, Šiauliai, Klaipėda, and Marijampole. "Marijampole seems to have received confirmation of structural fund support," L.Varanavicius said.
According to the president, the football academies should be fully operational by 2010, and they will be mainly financed by LFF, municipalities, and clubs. L.Varanavicius regretted that the government looks indifferently at the request to allocate at least 20 percent of the project funds.
In the near future, LFF should acquire modern equipment for match analysis. This news was especially welcomed by the national team's strategist Algimantas Liubinskas: "This will greatly facilitate the work of the national team. Moreover, it will be intended not only for the national team but also for other teams. With this equipment, each player can be given a printed sheet with precise numbers of how many times they performed tackles, how many times they crossed the ball, and so on. Perhaps then they won't tell their local newspapers, 'we lost because I was substituted'. Everything can be very objectively evaluated."
