ENGSO welcomes Presidents of Balkan NOCs to the high level meeting with aim to develop sport cooperation between Balkan and EU
Lisbon, Portugal, 14 October 2023
With the aim to foster cooperation between EU and Balkan countries specifically in the field of grassroots sport, and to strengthen the collaboration with the member organisations from Balkan, ENGSO organised a high level meeting with presidents of Portuguese Sport Confederation, Albanian National Olympic Committee, Olympic Committee of Kosovo and Montenegrin Olympic Committee, and a representative of Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the occasion of the 2023 European Sport Platform. The meeting took place on 14 October 2023, in Lisbon, Portugal.
ENGSO President Stefan Bergh, ENGSO Vice President Filipa Godinho and Portuguese Sport Confederation President Carlos Cardoso, the hosts of the high level meeting, were joined by Albanian National Olympic Committee President Fidel Ylli, Olympic Committee of Kosovo President Ismet Krasniqi and Montenegrin Olympic Committee President Dusan Simonovic.
The aim of the meeting was to strengthen the collaboration between ENGSO and its member organisations from Balkan, and exchange experiences about grassroots sport at national and international level, address the needs and the challenges the members are facing and discuss further collaboration at the EU level.
After the meeting ENGSO President Stefan Bergh highlighted: “I am honoured to host this important meeting that will strengthen sport cooperation and partnerships between ENGSO and Balkan countries. After initiating a common project Sport as Values earlier this year, we have now officially announced that the ENGSO’s flagship event European Sport Platform 2024 will be hosted by Kosovo Olympic Committee. Through exchange of knowledge, experiences and good practices, between EU and Balkan members, this cooperation will unite, connect and strengthen communities in Balkan, and beyond, using grassroots sport as a tool.”
The fruitful collaboration started this year with the Erasmus+ big collaborative partnership Sports as value, a project that united EU and Balkan countries with the aim to build stronger communities and peaceful societies through sports and the promotion of EU values in a historically fragmented region. The highlight of cooperation will be the final conference of the project and the seventh European Sport Platform which will be hosted by the Kosovo Olympic Committee in October 2024.
