MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORTS
GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF SPORTS
PRESS OFFICE
Athens, March 12, 2020
PRESS RELEASE
The sports family across the planet, like the entire global community, is in a pandemic situation. Our country could not be an exception and as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said yesterday, the hardest part is still ahead of us.
In this fight between society and the coronavirus, we must act like Olympic champions. With the maximum performance of individual responsibility from each of us, but also from all of us together as a champion team.
I address the sports community of Greece, the athletes, many of whom are role models for children, the new generation, and their families. The sports role models for society are due to their great successes, which came from the consolidation of discipline, from continuous effort, from the priority of "we" over "me".
These are the facts that we all must now demonstrate. No mass measure, no government decision will work if it is not first embraced by the citizens. Maximum caution, therefore, and faithful adherence to the instructions recommended by expert scientists:
Meticulous application of personal hygiene rules. Avoiding crowded places and large gatherings. To protect ourselves, our neighbors, those around us, those we love and the elderly, who are even more threatened. All Greek men and women.
Maximum awareness is required for those who participate, with the current strict restrictions, in sporting activities. Our thoughts are also with the efforts of our national missions, those who have secured or are still trying for their presence at the Olympic Games. We will support them as much as possible for their uninterrupted continuity, in parallel with the pan-Hellenic battle against the coronavirus. A battle with a marathon duration, in which we will win.