Sports Weekend
At the main opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milan in two weeks' time, the Romanian flag will be carried by figure skater Julia Sauter
Florin Orban, 23.01.2026, 13:45
Romania will be represented by 29 athletes at the 14th edition of the Winter Olympic
Games, which will take place between February 6 and 22, 2026, in Italy. The
announcement was made by the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, whose
Executive Board approved the composition of the delegation on Thursday. As the
competitions will take place in regions hundreds of kilometers apart, for the first time,
four opening ceremonies will be organized. The main one will take place in Milan, where
the Romanian flag will be carried by skater Julia Sauter. Three other opening
ceremonies will take place in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Livigno, and Predrazzo.
Let's move on to soccer. Romanian champions FCSB were defeated 4-1 by Dinamo
Zagreb on Thursday in the penultimate round of the Europa League group stage. In a
week's time, in the final round, the Bucharest team will play at home against Turkish
side Fenerbahce Istanbul, with minimal chances of finishing in the top 24 teams and
advancing.
The team coached by Cypriot Elias Charalambous is having a difficult season in the
Romanian Super League, being relatively far from the top six places, which send teams
to the playoffs, where the battle for the championship will be fought. With eight rounds
to go before the end of the regular season, there are six points between FCSB and the
team in sixth place, UTA Arad. On Sunday, the Bucharest team plays CFR Cluj at the
National Arena and desperately needs all three points.
Let’s also note the other matches of the 23rd round. On Friday, there are two games:
Metaloglobus vs. FC Argeş and Hermannstadt vs. Dinamo Bucharest. On Saturday,
Universitatea Cluj meets Unirea Slobozia at home, and Universitatea Craiova plays FC
Botoşani in Bănie. The first game of the day on Sunday is scheduled in Ploieşti,
between Petrolul and Farul Constanţa, followed by the derby between FCSB and CFR.
The last two games of the round are scheduled for Monday: Oţelul Galaţi vs.
Csikszereda and UTA vs. Rapid Bucureşti. Craiova leads the standings with 43 points.
Rapid is one point behind, and Dinamo is two points behind.
In women's handball, European competitions are taking place on Saturday, in the
Champions League, Group B, CSM Bucharest plays in Croatia against Podravka
Koprivnica, and on Sunday, in Group A, Gloria Bistriţa faces the Hungarian team Győr
at home. Both Romanian teams are in fourth place in their respective groups. The top
two teams go straight into the quarterfinals, while the teams in third, fourth, fifth, and
sixth place will play in a playoff for a spot in the quarterfinals. The teams in seventh and
eighth place will be eliminated from the competition.
In the EHF European League, all three teams representing Romania will play on
Saturday. Group A leader Minaur Baia Mare will play in Germany against Thüringer.
Another German team, Oldenburg, will face Rapid in Bucharest in Group C, where the
Romanian players are in third place. In Group D, Corona Braşov, also in third place, will
travel to Denmark to face former European champions Viborg. (MI)
