The organization of the Water Polo World Cup Superfinal in Podgorica would fully meet the sports interests of Montenegro, announced the cabinet of Prime Minister Milojko Spajić.

The Croatian Water Polo Federation had previously threatened not to attend the final tournament, scheduled for April 11-13 in Kotor and Budva, because the Kotor pool is named after Zoran – Džimi Gopčević. Croatian authorities are not allowing water polo players to enter the Kotor pool because they accuse Gopčević of war crimes in the Morinj camp.

Spajić’s cabinet called on Montenegrin fans to “fill the indoor pool of SC Morača and support our team.”

“The Government of Montenegro recognizes sport as one of its priorities and has confirmed this commitment through record support for sports federations, but also through investments in improving infrastructure, as well as by providing assistance in organizing major international competitions. In this way, the Government recognizes the importance of playing matches at the highest level in order to mature our talented athletes, so that they can continue to achieve top results in the future,” the statement reads.

In that context, as they said, sporting interests “must be placed ahead of political factors” when it comes to organizing the final tournament of the Water Polo World Cup.

“Given the known circumstances regarding the name of the swimming pool in Kotor, holding the final tournament in that city could result in not all the best national teams that have qualified for the competition participating, which would diminish the sporting significance of the competition itself. Playing against the best teams is of enormous importance for our rejuvenated water polo national team, especially at the beginning of the new Olympic cycle. Therefore, we believe that organizing the final tournament in Podgorica would fully meet the sporting interests of our country. We invite all ‘Sharks’ fans to fill the SC Morače indoor swimming pool during April and support our team,” the Prime Minister’s Office adds.

“On the other hand, we are convinced that the Kotor swimming pool will have the opportunity to host the best water polo players in the world in the very near future, and that the controversial issue will be resolved through dialogue, to the satisfaction of both sides – Montenegro and Croatia, and especially to the joy of all sports workers and water polo fans,” the statement reads.

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