"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.
"I still have this village endurance. Those days I ran a lot, played sports. I wanted to be a football player. But then I injured my knee and started playing hockey," the head of state said. "I recommend to play football, but on a proper surface. Otherwise you may face serious consequences. Bicycling and swimming are best of all, they say. I hate swimming because it is very tedious. But bicycling is a pleasure."
