Veliaj in the USA: Proud that Tirana is taken as an example of success for the transformation of a city
2023-09-21 14:22:14
TiranaPost
The Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, is conducting an official visit to the United States of America, where he participated as a guest at the "Strong Cities" summit in New York, to talk about the development of cities in the last decade, including crisis management and other challenges. He also stopped in the state of Ohio, where he closely followed the elite athletes of Sport Club Tirana, who are training in the fields of the "Athletes in Action Sports Complex", as preparation for the "Paris 2024" Olympic Games.
"It is an extraordinary pride that Tirana is always part of the panels where cities are talked about, to tell the story of its transformation. I am very proud of what we have all achieved together. When I meet mayors, who lead cities much more consolidated than Tirana, who have come to Tirana and tell me that they have seen a clean city, a safe place, with minimal crime, they have seen how many developments have been made in a very short time, I feel really proud of my citizens. The Mayor and his team have their role, but if all of us, as citizens, had not embraced these changes, then we would not have succeeded", said Veliaj.
The mayor also spoke about his short stop in Ohio, where he met with the elite athletes of Sport Club Tirana. "We had a great experience with our Sport Club Tirana team, which is the biggest part of the Albanian Olympic team. We want to, in cooperation with the Ohio Athletics Academy, train our athletes, not only in the physical character as a sport, but also for the psychological side. Of course, we will continue the cooperation with the Athletics Academy in Ohio, we are in negotiations to open an office of theirs in Tirana, to do some sports clinics in our city. I believe it helps us, as we prepare for the 'Paris 2024' Olympic Games", he said.
Veliaj said that the Municipality of Tirana will support not only elite athletes, but all young people who want to do sports. "We will continue to help elite athletes, but sport in the community makes the difference. The fact that today we had an extraordinary influx of registrations in all sports associations confirms that Albanian parents have understood this philosophy. They don't take children to sports because they will all become Olympic players, but they take them there above all to have an Olympic mentality. To be able to play in a team, able to manage a loss, able to be humble and modest when they have a success. I believe that these are the characteristics of sport that go beyond the medal", concluded Veliaj.
