Montenegro is no longer a sports miracle! Slogans about it in the announcements and addresses of sports officials and media workers have no basis in the result. With less than half a year until the start of the biggest competition - the Olympic Games in Paris, Montenegrin sport has no norms. For the first time, not even a medal was won at the 3rd European Games in Krakow. Montenegro is not even on the list of the most successful countries in relation to the number of inhabitants, but there are San Marino, Kosovo, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia...
Seven years ago, I wrote about the results from the Rio Olympics, from which our sports system did not learn important lessons. Unfortunately, the years were spent on the further collapse of everything that adorned Montenegrin sports (the dominant heritage of the Yugoslav school of sports) by preserving proven corrupt mechanisms and the system of double financing. They have almost come of age since gaining independence, and sports achievements are more likely to be the result of family, entrepreneurial initiative, or the predominance of rare experts in sports. For many years we have been hearing that Montenegro is a sporting miracle, and one thing is certain - that the results are certainly not the result of a system and strategic planning. The system of awards for top results has also collapsed, so the best give up because of their existence in the years of greatest expectations. We are a society of poor athletes and rich sports officials. The table below confirms that we have not been a "sports miracle" for a long time, in terms of results. Unfortunately, we are a "miracle" in terms of individuals who still captured the sports system in Montenegro and in terms of misuse of taxpayers' funds.
I previously pointed out how captive institutions in sports function through the "kiosk" model. Let me repeat myself; imagine that you and your neighbor decide to open a kiosk, with one specificity. Although you are an entrepreneur, all business expenses are covered from the state budget, and the profit remains only with you. Who would not engage in such a business? At the same time, certain sports organizations have been showing expenses for years, which are covered by the international partner organization, because these are financially quite profitable global sports events - the so-called. double financing system. For a long period of time, the competition for the co-financing of programs of sports organizations, as the main public source for financing sports in Montenegro, has been subject to numerous abuses. Tax payers' funds, generous and completely sufficient, never reach those who need it most - athletes and coaches. Data on the actual state, ie. results are far below those presented by the head of the Montenegrin Olympic Committee. A vivid example of the above is reflected in the program for financial support for the year 2022, which COK sent to the then Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports and the Directorate for Sports and Youth. Namely, the COK asked for funds for activities (accommodation and transport for the sports delegation) which are normally financed by the host of the Games and the International Olympic Committee, as well as for the preparation of the athletes themselves, even though the home federations are in charge and the only ones competent to implement the preparatory activities (in the table it is given cost sheet for the Montenegrin team, which was then represented by three athletes). So, for years, the maintenance of captive sports organizations has been financed, while the sports system is collapsing.
The table shows that the Montenegrin Olympic Committee asked the state for more money for its expenses, otherwise paid by the IOC, than for the athletes representing Montenegro. If you compare the results of the Montenegrin Olympic Committee and the Kosovo Olympic Committee (KOC) in the last two Olympic cycles - while the KOC won 3 medals (including gold), the COK won 0 medals. But on the other hand, the competent ministry paid COK at least twice as much funds as KOK received (to this amount it is necessary to add numerous financings through the budget reserve, without a program or corresponding project).
To summarize, more money for a system without a system will not help the sport, but it will help the individuals to survive the influence trading mechanism and the provision of the voting machinery. That is why there is such a struggle for positions in sports governing bodies. However, another fact is worrying here. Namely, numerous studies (from Numerato, 2009; Manoli and Janečić, 2021; to Begović, 2023) confirm that sports journalists-media maintain this model precisely because of established clientelistic relationships. Due to the previous fact, it should not be surprising that journalists are on the payroll of sports organizations through various engagements, and there is no reaction from their editorial offices. For example, the activities of the Association of Sports Journalists are often financed by sports institutions, so it should not be surprising that there was no criticism for the failures of our team at the 3rd European Games in Krakow, or for the lack of OI norms. No one has taken responsibility, and it is surprising that no one is asking. I would also like to remind you of the recent case of the handball player Raičević, which well illustrates the law of silence and joint courts, reflecting the political relations and party exceptionalism of individuals who are primarily focused on the abuse of sport for non-sporting or particular/individual interests.
The author is a university professor in Norway
Note: The data from the tabular presentations are the product of the work of colleagues Richard Parrish and Borjo Garcia; with the last mentioned in the process is the publication of a scientific paper on the sports system in Kosovo.
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