Montenegro are considering a bid to host the 2019 GSSE, the country’s chef de mission Igor Vusunovic told The Times.
Despite fielding a token contingent of 33 athletes on their GSSE debut in Liechtenstein, Montenegro won eight medals – four gold, two silver and two bronze.
Away from the field of play, top officials from the Montenegrin Olympic Committee used their time in Vaduz to strengthen their relationship with those from the eight other participating countries. They have made no secret of their intention to submit a bid for the 2019 Games at the next GSSE Assembly, to be held in Luxembourg next year.
“I can confirm that Montenegro is interested in hosting the Games of the Small States of Europe in 2019,” Vusunovic said.
“During the general assembly (in Liechtenstein) we made a presentation to the other member nations about our country’s plans and ambitions and the response has been very positive. In the past few weeks we had several meetings with NOC officials to promote our bid and the feedback is very encouraging.”
Last Monday, the GSSE countries accepted San Marino’s bid to host the opening edition of the third cycle of the Games in 2017. Vusunovic later admitted that Montenegro had a verbal agreement with San Marino Olympic Committee president Angelo Vicini not to challenge their attempt to organise the Games in six years’ time.
“We are newcomers to these Games and we have to respect the other countries,” Vusunovic said.
“I can confirm that we agreed to help San Marino win the 2017 bid and in return, they promised their backing for our campaign to organise the following Games.
“Now we will meet with the government of Montenegro to put forward our plans and secure the necessary guarantees but I’m sure that we will have the full backing of the country’s authorities.
“The next step would be to present our official bid at the next Bureau meeting in Luxembourg.”
Vusunovic said Montenegro is planning to build a huge sports complex so that they create the spirit of a sporting village with all disciplines being held at one venue.
Co-operation
Montenegro’s GSSE affiliation could turn out to be beneficial for sport in Malta as Vusunovic has revealed that they are planning exchange programmes with Maltese federations.
“We believe that these Games should be an opportunity for the small countries to share their resources with the aim of helping their athletes improve their level of performance,” he said.
“I have already been in touch with the Malta Volleyball Federation president Branko Vlahovic, whom I know from my days as a volleyball player in Serbia, and we are planning to host the Maltese players for training camps in Montenegro.
“However, we’re open to work with all other associations as I believe that we can learn a lot from all the countries who compete in the GSSE.”