Can a country with 600 inhabitants have a serious sports model?

Montenegro has been showing for years that it has talent, character and sporting potential.

Big victories and medals have created a sense that a small country can stand shoulder to shoulder with much larger ones. However, behind every success lies a question that has been avoided for too long: does Montenegro have a serious sports system or just individuals who succeed despite the system?

Because serious sport cannot rest on chance, the enthusiasm of a few people, and the enormous sacrifice of parents.

Serious sport starts with children, school sports, and a clear development strategy that lasts for years.

And that's exactly where our biggest problem lies.

School sports in Montenegro have not been a priority for a long time, although they should be the foundation of any society that wants healthy children and serious sports.

Instead of schools being places where children develop physical abilities, work habits, and a love of sports, school sports are often reduced to a minimum, without sufficient content, infrastructure, and systematic work.

The consequences are already visible. Children are becoming less physically active, spending more time in front of phones and screens, while problems with health, posture, and physical fitness are becoming a serious social issue.

That's why sports today are no longer just a matter of medals. Sports are a matter of the health of the nation.

In the book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell writes:

"Talent alone is not enough. Success is a function of opportunity, preparation and environment".

That is perhaps the best description of Montenegrin sports. The talent is there. But the system is still lagging behind.

Of particular concern is the way in which citizens' money has been spent for years.

Municipalities and the state allocate millions of dollars for senior clubs that often lack a clear child development strategy, serious infrastructure, or long-term work plan.

After investing so much money, some clubs still do not have their own training room, do not have a stable base of younger categories, nor a sufficient number of registered children who would represent the future of the sport.

Yet the money keeps coming in. Without serious analysis of the results. Without clear accountability. Without asking what has been done specifically for the development of children and sports.

This can no longer be normal.

Clubs that have operated for years almost exclusively on the citizens' budget must have the obligation to leave behind the system, infrastructure, and a new generation of athletes.

Because if after 10 years of investment you don't have your own child base, your own infrastructure, and a clear development plan, then the problem is much bigger than one bad result.

The problem is the lack of vision.

It is easiest to invest in seniors and wait for results that will last a few days in the media. It is much harder to build a system that will last 20 years.

But, this is precisely what distinguishes serious sports countries from those that live off of random generations and momentary successes.

In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear wrote:

"Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become".

The same goes for the state. Every euro invested without a plan, without control, and without the development of children is a vote for the wrong model of sports.

And every euro invested in a school, a coach, a field and a child is an investment in a healthier society.

Montenegro must not wait for sports to survive solely thanks to the talent of individuals, because talent without a system will sooner or later disappear.

A small country cannot afford the luxury of improvisation. Small countries must have a more precise and responsible development model than large ones.

It is time for sport to finally stop being a space for short-term interests and immediate results. It is time for a strategy that will put the child, school, health and long-term development at the center. Because no medal can be more important than a generation of healthy children.

And a country that loses its children loses its future in the long run.

If we don't create a system for children today, tomorrow we will have neither sports nor a healthy society.

Author Marko Rajović, Master of Sports Medicine