Minister of Sports Zoran Gajić and President of the European Aquatics Federation (European Aquatics) Antonio Silva signed an agreement to relocate the EA headquarters to Belgrade.
Gajić emphasized that the relocation of EA to Belgrade is a big deal for Serbian sports and Serbia.
– This is also important for the image of our country in the world. So for the first time in history, we will have one office of one sports branch in this part of Europe. Of course, the International Aquatics Federation is in Budapest, and here it will be European. This is the first step towards relocating at least five more offices of various confederations in various sports branches. It is difficult for me to explain now how big a deal this is, but all people involved in sports at the international level know how big it is – said Gajić.
He stated that several dozen EA employees will be working in Belgrade.
– All national federations that are part of the European confederation, in this case EA, will have almost daily work that they will carry out in the office in Belgrade. We will have a record that a decision was made in Belgrade and that a meeting was held. There will certainly be competition commissions, coaching, coaching associations, referees, various commissions for the development of the five sports that belong to EA. So the appearance of the name of Serbia, Belgrade, in this way will increase several, several thousand times on a daily basis. It is a fantastic thing and I thank everyone who participated in all of this, the Government of the Republic of Serbia, President Aleksandar Vučić, who took the first steps with the people from EA. And of course Vanja Udovicić, who is one of the vice presidents of EA and who is one of the most deserving of this – said the Serbian Minister of Sports.
Gajić added that Silva will begin his duties in Belgrade today.
– He is very impatient, that until all this officially starts, practically in a technical sense, ten people come and start working. It is more a matter of technique and they will, as they say, solve it on the ground and it will be done very soon – said Gajić.
Silva emphasized that the relocation of EA to Belgrade is an important step for the organization.
– On behalf of EA and other aquatics federations, I would like to express my gratitude to Minister Gajić and President Vučić for making this agreement possible. This agreement allows us to continue moving our headquarters to Belgrade and Serbia, which is a very important step for the future of our organization. We greatly appreciate the efforts of the Serbian Government and the President who made this possible – said Silva.
He stated that Belgrade and Serbia successfully organized the European Water Polo Championship.
– This is not my first time here. I have to say that an excellent job has been done after the incredible organization of the European Championships. Everyone in the organization did a very good job to make it a very successful event. The general impression is very positive, I think this is a very good step for us, for water sports in Europe and for the development of sports and water polo in Serbia – said Silva.
The headquarters of this organization from 2015 to 2025 was in Nyon, and the contract has now been signed for ten years.
