When less than two months remain from the start of the finals of the European Championship ‘France 2016’ , the president of the Albanian Football Federation Armand Duka , makes a brief synopsis of what has happened and the preparations of the institution he leads for this event , until now , the most important one for the Albanian football.

The head of the football institution also talks about the national team and its preparations during March until May , and the first days of June , when the team will leave for France. A confession , of what the Albanian Football Federation is preparing , and the expectancies of thw President , for the first participation of Albania in such major event.

-Less than two months remain from the start of the finals of the European Championship “France 2016’’. What kind of preparations is AFF doing for such major event?

– We are working hard. A lot of work and dedication is needed to make the best out of it. In fact , it is an unexplored terrain and we are exploring it day by day , trying to do the best. By the end of last year , to be more precise , right after the qualification , we drafted a series of projects and developed an action plan, which we are trying to implement point by point.

-A mesmerizing eliminatory edition. What will the President of AFF , distinguish mostly from this story?

-A lot of emotions , the events occurred with an unimaginable and fast intensity . Of course , things that can never be forgotten , are part of the bright side of the Albanian football. Victories , disappointment , battles in the field and off of it ( I recall the judicial battle won in CAS). What I would like to highlight is the trust that we all had. A trust that gradually increased. Starting with the wonderful victory in Portugal , and then match after match , battle after battle , until the qualification.

– The national team played two friendlies. What was your impression about them?

– Regarding the first match , I thing that we presented two sides. In the first half we made mistakes in defense , more that we had made the entire eliminatory edition. The second half , we returned to normality, and we showed our values and reacted well against a strong team. As for the second match , experiments were made , and can be technically explained by the coach De Biasi and his staff. I spoke with the coach and I am convinced that he has taken all the necessary information from these friendlies. This was also shared with the football players and I believe that have taken the message from these two matches.

– The preparations will start on 23rd of May. Can you give us some details regarding this preparatory campaign?

– The team will gather in Austria in May 23rd, and will start the preparations for ‘Euro 2016’. On May 29th we will play the first friendly match against Qatar. Meanwhile , on June 3 we will play the last friendly match of this campaign in Bergamo , against Ukraine. On June 5th we will be in France , to be accommodated in our residence. The staff has prepared everything , so that the team has a superb comfort. I would like to inform that all the necessary measures have been taken for the three transfers of the group , in Lens , Marseille and Lion.

– During this period , there were assumptions for a possible chance that the coach might leave , what is your official opinion about this ?

– It is worthless to keep dealing with this history. I have officially responded regarding this topic. I can confirm that I talk everyday with the coach , the organizing staff and with a lot of entities which we are in contact , so we can prepare a worthy European championship , and where we hope to show our best. The best of the Albanian football. We are concentrated only in this direction. As for the other things , they are not of our interest.

– What are the requests of President Duka from the team , the coach , the staff and the AFF?

It is needless to emphasize that we operate as a big team. We all complete, support , cooperate and seek for the best of each other. Everyone is aware of the difficulties of our first representation is such event. Even for the tasks ahead. We need focus and professionalism in order to give our best. Both are important links that will make us show our best. I am confident that we will manage to demonstrate our best values, which not coincidentally brought us here.