By Panagiotis Dalatariof.
The President of the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO), Panagiotis Baltakos, has spoken exclusively to The Greek Herald about the potential to hold the Greek Cup final in Melbourne, Victoria.
In the interview, Mr Baltakos stressed that discussions with the Football Federation Australia (FFA) is at an early stage, but he did not rule out the possibility of seeing Greek teams coming to Australia so expatriates and the Greek community in general can watch them closely.
How did you come up with the idea of holding the Greek Cup final in Australia?
The idea was born by seeing other countries’ Cup finals being held outside the country’s territory. I think this is something that Greece and EPO can do, even if it does not happen this year, but one of the following years. When I put the idea to the Executive Committee of the Football Federation it was positively received by all and I think that if it goes ahead it will be a sign of progress and modernisation for Greek football in general. Australia is one of the possible countries due to the fact that a large number of Greeks live there, without ignoring the great distance and the difficulty of access that exists in this sense.
Where are discussions at with the FFA at the moment?
We are still at a stage where we cannot say anything definite about the conduct of the Cup Final. However, Australia and Melbourne are among the potential venues, but we are looking at other scenarios.
Do you have a specific date in mind?
The final date is May 20. It is not in our intentions to change it, but if it is judged that it has to be moved to another date for some particular reason that will benefit all involved we will have to decide from there.
In the event the final does not take place in Australia, is there potential for a friendly match or a visit of the Greek national team to Australia?
There is no such thought at the moment, but anything is possible regardless of where the Cup Final is held.
Do you have a message for readers of The Greek Herald?
I would like to tell them that we love them very much and would like to, if possible, give them the possibility to watch Greek teams compete in Australia.
