On Wednesday, 29 February, the Saeima’s football team will have a friendship game against the combined team of the Ukrainian and Polish Embassies in Latvia.

The game between MPs and diplomats will take place exactly 100 days before the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship that will be hosted by Poland and Ukraine.

It is expected that the Saeima’s team will consist of its captain Vitālijs Orlovs (Concord Centre), MPs Uldis Augulis (Union of Greens and Farmers), Rihards Eigims (Union of Greens and Farmers), Andrejs Elksniņš (Concord Centre), Ivans Klementjevs (Concord Centre), Ainars Latkovskis (Unity), Romāns Naudiņš (All for Latvia – For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK), Dmitrijs Rodionovs (Concord Centre), Raimonds Vējonis (Union of Greens and Farmers) and Mihails Zemļinskis (Concord Centre). Staff members of the Saeima will also be on the team.

Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, Anatoliy Oliynyk, Ambassador of the Ukraine, as well as Jerzy Marek Nowakowski, Ambassador of Poland, are invited to open the friendship game.

While training for the game, on 24 February MPs competed with the team of football veterans from Aizkraukle. The Saeima has had its own football team since 2002; during this period it has had a chance to play against MPs of the German Landtag, Lithuanian parliament, Latvian women’s national football team, as well as journalists.

The game between the Saeima’s football team and the combined team of the Ukrainian and Polish Embassies will begin on 29 February at 2 p.m. at the Olympic Sports Centre, Grostonas iela 6b, Riga.

Information for media:
During the game, there will be photo and video opportunities.

Saeima Press Service