The Lithuanian Association is delighted to announce a partnership with the well-known footballer Deividas Šemberas, a star for his country. The former player of Moscow Dinamo, Moscow CSKA, Vladikavkaz Alania and Vilnius Zalgiris has become the ambassador of the Lithuanian Association, the Lithuanian National Team, and the future Leisure Leagues project in Lithuania.
After playing 82 matches in the Lithuanian national team Šemberas finished his professional career in 2015 in the Vilnius Žalgiris team, where he later worked as the director of sports operations for almost two years and before that period he was also the president of the Lithuanian top-flight league.
Now, in a deal agreed earlier this month, Mr Šemberas has agreed to dive into small sided football and has become an ambassador for this sport in Lithuania, as Kęstutis Bagonas, the executive director of the Lithuanian Association explained.
“Following world practice, when former football stars become ambassadors of this sport, we invited Mr Šemberas to join the Lithuanian small-sided community. Understanding his busy schedule, we agreed that Devidas would focus on social activities in his first year as well as participating in discussions about the prospects for the sport with city and district council leaders,” he said. “The new project Deividas and Friends will delight the teams of the Lithuanian 7×7 Championship or Leisure Leagues in which former Lithuanian football stars will compete on the field.”
Kęstutis added that his wide range of skills made Šemberas perfect for the role, commenting: “Devidas has a degree in marketing from UEFA, so step by step we will try to apply the acquired knowledge in this type of football in national and international events, such as the Socca World Cup or the Champions League events. I am happy to be able to develop the started ideas with one of the best Lithuanian football players and I hope that Deividas will feel good in our sport’s family”.
The Lithuanian Association has many connections with Lithuanian football stars. For three years (2015 – 2018), the head coach of the Lithuanian national team was another Lithuanian football legend – Stanislovas Danisevičius, and Valdas Ivanauskas is a regular guest of honor at Vilnius, Republican or Baltic events. Another legend of Lithuanian football – Deividas Šemberas – will now join these legends.