Memorial meeting held for Izet Gjinovci

A memorial meeting for Izet Gjinovci was held on Tuesday morning in the Central Administration Hall of the University of Pristina.

Gjinovci, who had spent his life in handball, passed away on Monday morning. From 2002 until his last breath, he held the position of Secretary General of the Kosovo Handball Federation (FHK). The late Gjinovci had been involved in handball for more than four decades and had contributed in various positions.

Speaking about Secretary General Gjinovci’s valuable contribution was Eugen Saraçini, president of the Kosovo Handball Federation.

“It is very difficult to speak about Izet, whom I had known for more than two decades. Through his dedication, commitment, assistance and support for handball clubs and national teams, he has entered the history of handball and Kosovan sport. It was a pleasure to work with Izet, even when our views were not aligned. But such a situation would pass in a few seconds. Together, we succeeded,” said President Saraçini, who shared with the many people present special moments from his shared past with the deceased.

He thanked the deceased’s wife, Valbona, who stood by “everyone’s friend” until the end.

“Izet was respected at the EHF, too; he was the first Kosovan to become a nominal member of the EHF. He spoke with the EHF president and the IHF president as if they had known each other for many, many years. He is one of those people who gave far more to handball than perhaps to his own family. It is difficult to part with him in this way. But every tear we shed is also a joy that we had a person like him by our side,” President Saraçini added.

On behalf of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, Daulina Osmani, Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, spoke about Izet Gjinovci’s character.

She described Gjinovci as a doyen of handball and Kosovan sport.

“He was an inspiration, a key pillar in the development of sport in Kosovo. His work is a motivation and inspiration for the younger generations. Izet was one of the few people from the sports community from whom I heard stories about sport in Kosovo,” Deputy Minister Osmani said.

The deceased’s wife, Valbona, spoke on behalf of the family.

“20 years ago, I set off for Pristina. For 20 years, he gave me love and care. But I was not his greatest love. His greatest love was handball. We were like on two sides of a scale, and handball won. He was so strong that he did not think about his illness, but only about handball results,” she said, thanking Dr. Ilir Kurtishi for caring for the deceased so attentively for a full three years. Valbona Gjinovci also thanked all of the deceased’s colleagues, singling out his assistant, Muhamet Arifi.

“He was like Izet’s son, and now he is like my son.”

Finally, Izet Gjinovci’s friend, Sokol Axhemi, also spoke about his character.

The deceased will be buried today at 17:00 in the cemetery of the village of Makërmal, in the municipality of Skenderaj.