The Water Polo World Cup superfinal, hosted by Montenegro, will be held in Podgorica, the Water Polo and Swimming Federation of Montenegro (VPSCG) announced today.
The tournament was originally supposed to be held in Budva and Kotor, but the Croatian Water Polo Federation threatened not to attend the final tournament, which is scheduled for April 11-13, because the swimming pool in Kotor is named after Zoran - Džimi Gopčević. Croatia will face the "Sharks" in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, the Government of Montenegro stressed in a statement that organizing the World Cup Superfinal in Podgorica would fully meet the sports interests of Montenegro.
"After we were informed of the recommendations of the Government of the Republic of Croatia that the Croatian national team not play the World Cup Final Tournament matches in Kotor, due to the current problem regarding the name of the pool, we accepted the recommendation of our Government to change the original plan and organize the Final Tournament in Podgorica," the VPSCG announced.
In a statement, the VPSCG said that "when we showed interest and expressed our candidacy to host and organize the World Cup Final Tournament, we did so out of the desire to provide water polo fans in Montenegro with the opportunity to enjoy a sporting spectacle and for our "sharks", in front of a home audience, to qualify for the World Championship."
"We wanted to be the hosts where the roots of our water polo are, where water polo is both a sport and a lifestyle, where the cult of the national team was created, nurtured and spread - on our coast, in Kotor and Budva. However, we are of the opinion that all national teams that have qualified should be part of this sporting spectacle and that circumstances that have nothing to do with sport do not affect or diminish the importance of this competition," said the VPSCG.
They explained that this was also "the only alternative if we take into account the fact that Herceg Novi still does not have an indoor swimming pool, that we do not have enough adequate hotel capacities in Nikšić that can meet the standards of such a competition, and that the swimming pool in Budva does not meet the requirements on its own."
"We express our great desire and readiness to participate in the sports framework to resolve the controversial issue of the Kotor swimming pool as soon as possible, so that our sport can once again unite and overcome all divisions and misunderstandings. The extent to which the unity of the water polo family is taken into account, and the extent to which the relations between the two Federations are at an excellent level, is best evidenced, first of all, by the multi-year Regional League competition in which clubs from Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia participate."
VPSCG also takes the opportunity to thank the World Aquatics Federation (World Aquatic), "with whom we have held a series of meetings in the past period, to consider a new location."
"At the same time, we hope that they will take into account the current non-sporting circumstances and regardless of the fact that the City Swimming Pool in Podgorica does not have even close technical capabilities to organize the competition format that the World Cup Final Tournament deserves. All that remains for us is to justify the role of the organizer with great energy and additional financial investments and present ourselves as good hosts in the best possible way. Unfortunately, this situation once again reminds us of the infrastructural conditions in which water polo functions and lives, which, according to all its achievements, should be declared our national sport. We firmly believe that with the help of the Government of Montenegro, which we thank for understanding the situation and for supporting us in organizing such a major competition in our country, we will succeed in doing everything necessary in a short time and for our national team to qualify for the World Championship from home and with the help of the fans," the statement concluded.
The Super Finals are scheduled for April 11-13, and in addition to Montenegro and Croatia, Hungary, Spain, Greece, Japan, Germany and the Netherlands are participating. Three tickets to the World Cup are being awarded in this tournament.
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