ZAX President for “Wprost” about playing in the Club World Cup: Words taken out of context

At the beginning of last season, there was a lot of talk about the decision of ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle, which for the second time in a row withdrew from the Club World Cup. The then Champions League winner and Polish champion was replaced by Sir Safety Perugia with Kamil Semenuk and Wilfredo León at the helm.

ZAKSA left KMŚ last season

Then the president of ZAKSA, Piotr Spaczek, in an interview with “Wprost” said that the decision was well thought out and analyzed. “It’s not like we made this decision quickly and painlessly, because for several years we want to play in the Club World Cup and would like to compete for this trophy. However, we understand that we have a long season ahead of us and struggle on many levels, Grupa Azoty ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle will compete in the Supercup, Polish Cup, PlusLiga and the Champions League,” we heard in an interview from October. 28, 2022.

Will the situation repeat itself this year? A few days ago, there was information in the media that ZAKSA will not go to KMŚ for the third time in a row, especially since the competition will be organized in India. President Piotr Spaczek decided to refute this information.

Piotr Spaczek: Journalists take some words out of context

Norbert Amlicki “Wprost”: I have a question about the Club World Cup. There was a lot of talk about them at the start of last season because you decided to pull out of them for the second time in a row. We even talked about it in one of the interviews. Now it has also become loud, because you had to say that this year you will no longer take part in this competition.

Petr Spaczek, President of Grupa Azoty ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle: Unfortunately, some words or phrases are taken out of context by journalists. I recently spoke with Przegląd Sportowy about the Club World Cup. In my opinion, it was a casual conversation just before the award ceremony in Turin, and the journalist got what she wanted from her.

It sounded 100 percent that we would not go, and in fact it is not known whether we will be invited at all. In addition, in order to make any decision, we also need to know the final form of this competition and PlusLiga, so many question marks remain.

In that conversation between sentences, I said we’d see if we went at all.

I remember how we analyzed the trip to Brazil (for last year’s issue of KMŚ – ed.) at different levels, i.e. aircraft rental, travel and accommodation costs, as well as research into possible rescheduling of PlusLiga and Champions League matches. As a result, it turned out that it was physically impossible for us to take part in the entire project, and it’s not just about the cost.

Not that we resented the FIVB. If the tournament were held somewhere in Europe, where it takes about two hours to fly, it would be a little easier and the likelihood that we would take part in the competition would be much higher.

So what are your plans for this year?

If we receive an invitation, then, as in previous years, we will analyze all the pros and cons, all the logistics, i.e. the possibility of flights and accommodation, risk issues that arise when traveling to India. Then I will definitely meet with the coaching staff, with whom we will discuss sports aspects and whether we can combine the club world championship with league and Champions League tournaments. Only then, after all the analyzes, we will make the right decision.

Are there any conditions under which you could play in this tournament? For example, if it is materially and financially difficult for you, because winning it is probably the dream of many players in your club. Are you still thinking about neglecting PlusLiga?

We would very much like to take part in the Club World Cup and compete for this trophy. However, they cannot interfere with PlusLiga and the Champions League, which is our priority and our goal that we must pursue.

If the dates given by the FIVB coincide with the dates of our games, and we cannot make up for the matches that we have to postpone, regardless of the desire to participate, we will not be able to fly to the KIS. .

Again, this is not a declaration on our part. I repeat, first we need to get an invitation, see the place where the KMS will be held, find out the dates of the meetings and connect it logistically and sportively. If this succeeds or fails, only then will we make an appropriate statement regarding our participation in the Club World Cup.