The new International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) President, Sandro Di Girolamo, will travel to the 2021 IBSA Goalball European Championships in Samsun, Turkey, this week to make his first appearance since being elected.

Di Girolamo took office at the IBSA General Assembly in Amman, Jordan, in October alongside a new Executive Board.

He will join the rest of the board in Samsun for the competition where they will meet for the second time. He will also watch the medal matches on Friday (12 November) before presenting the medals.

“My vision for my Presidency at IBSA is to be present among the athletes, and for this reason we decided to carry out the latest Executive Board meeting in this important, prestigious event.

“Myself and the new Executive Board are keen to get out to events to meet athletes and members, and I encourage people to come and say hello. We want to hear any feedback people may have on IBSA’s work, what we do well and how we can improve.

“I hope to meet players, coaches, classifiers, officials, volunteers and IBSA members involved with all the IBSA sports over the coming months – it would be great to share ideas and move forward together.”

The 2021 IBSA Goalball European Championships A are currently underway in Samsun. Quarter-finals are taking place on Wednesday ahead of the semi-finals and medal matches on Thursday and Friday.

The competition is a qualifier for the 2022 IBSA Goalball World Championships in Hangzhou, China.