“The European way united us. Forward to Europe! Peace to Georgia,” Khvicha Kvaratskhelia— winger for Serie A club Napoli and a scorer for the national team in the legendary win against Portugal — wrote on Facebook in April, as Georgians were holding protests against the “foreign agent law.”
Many other players from the Georgian national team followed suit. The ruling Georgian Dream party has mostly been cautious in responding to such resistance, aware of the athletes’ popularity.
Still, they didn’t completely let it slide. Secretary General of Georgian Dream Kakha Kaladze— an example of an athlete-turned-politician who played football for A.C. Milan — was quick to respond to one Georgian national team player, who posted his support for the pro-EU protests against the foreign agent law.
Giorgi Kochorashvili, a central midfielder for Spanish club Levante UD and the national team, had reposted a photo from an anti-foreign agent law rally. Kaladze responded by telling journalists that Kochorashvili’s father, who also supported the demonstrations, was “Natsi” — a derogatory term for the opposition United National Movement party, often rolled out by Georgian Dream to discredit opponents.
As the election has nears, Georgian Dream has made more direct efforts to associate themselves with football stars.
After their successful performance at Euro 2024, Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili donated 30 million Georgian lari (€10 million) to the national football team.
To the disappointment of the opposition, four players from the national team have recently appeared in a Georgian Dream campaign ad.
Come Saturday, it’s all to play for.
