Belarus will host a football tournament among women's teams of CIS and Baltic champions - G. Nevglas

February 17, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA/. The international women's football tournament, which concluded today in Vitebsk, is planned to be expanded and held in the format of a tournament for champions of CIS and Baltic countries. This was announced to a BELTA correspondent by Gennady Nevglas, Chairman of the Belarusian Football Federation (BFF), who attended the final match and the awards ceremony for the tournament prize-winners today. According to him, the tournament was initially conceived as an analogue of the men's tournament for winners of CIS football championships for the Commonwealth Cup, held in Russia. "However, we want the women's champions of the Commonwealth and Baltic countries to also have the opportunity to hold their tournament, and specifically in Belarus," said Gennady Nevglas. Various options for holding such competitions were considered, and Vitebsk showed the greatest interest in organizing it. The regional center was also prioritized due to its favorable geographical location for potential participants from CIS countries. So, in the near future, Vitebsk will become the venue for the women's football tournament in the format of a competition for champions of CIS and Baltic countries, noted Gennady Nevglas. For now, the organization of competitions in this format is hampered by financial issues and infrastructure development, but their resolution is a matter of time. The BFF has already received support from the CIS Executive Committee. "Women's football is gaining popularity, and we will hold the CIS champions' tournament with dignity and interest," assured Gennady Nevglas. In the final of the tournament in Vitebsk, the Belarusian junior (under 19) national team lost to the team "ShVSM Izmailovo" (Moscow, Russia) with a score of 2:0 and became the silver medalist of the competition. Another Belarusian club, Vitebsk's "Universitet," won bronze medals, defeating Kazakhstan's "Zherim-KU" 2:1 in a hard-fought match. The best forward of the tournament was recognized as Belarusian Anzhela Lapusta from the junior national team, and the best defender was Anna Gromolyuk from Vitebsk's "Universitet." Two more best player awards were taken to Moscow by goalkeeper Elena Kochneva and midfielder Elena Fomina from "ShVSM Izmailovo." The international women's football tournament brought together 6 teams from Russia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, and Belarus in Vitebsk, with two Belarusian and two Russian teams competing for the main prize. Domestic football was represented by the Vitebsk club "Universitet" and the junior (under 19) national team. According to the tournament regulations, in the preliminary stage, the teams played round-robin matches, the results of which determined the finalists and the participants of the match for third place. The games were held on the artificial turf of the Central Sports Complex.