“Irakli Kobakhidze, Prime Minister of Georgia, together with President Mikheil Kavelashvili, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, Minister of Sports Shalva Gogoladze and President of the Football Federation Levan Kobiashvili, congratulated the veteran players of FC Dinamo Tbilisi on the 45th anniversary of their historic triumph.

During the ceremonial event, the Head of Government of Georgia highlighted the historic importance of FC Dinamo Tbilisi and celebrated its triumph in the 1981 European Cup Winners’ Cup. He also expressed gratitude to the veteran players for their invaluable contributions to the growth and development of Georgian football.

“May 13 is a special day not only for Georgian football and Georgian sports, but for our entire country. At that time, Georgia was not an independent country, yet the sense of national pride that May 13 brought to Georgians is something any independent nation would have envied, and that feeling of pride remains with each of us to this day.

Forty-five years have passed since that May 13, and when we watched the footage, the match moments and the goals, those emotions still have not faded. Of course, at the time they were much more intense, but even today they fill us with absolutely extraordinary feelings.

That final, that Dinamo team, the golden generation of Dinamo Tbilisi, remains a source of pride for us to this day, and I would like to thank each and every one of you. Thank you, the golden generation of Dinamo Tbilisi, who created and wrote a remarkable chapter not only for football and Georgian sports, but for our entire country.

That victory became a special source of inspiration for many generations of athletes, footballers and representatives of other sports. It is thanks to your achievements that Georgian sports continue to develop and reach new victories and successes. I wish Georgian football great triumphs in the future, and once again I want to express my deepest gratitude to each of you, the players of the golden generation, for the extraordinary sense of pride you have given us,” stated Irakli Kobakhidze.

The event was attended by representatives of Georgia’s executive and legislative authorities, veteran football players and members of the sports community.