Players of the Cadet national basketball team of B&H, who won the gold medal and became champions of Europe in Lithuania, yesterday in Sarajevo talked about their success as well as the problems with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Denis Zvizdić and Minister of Civil Affairs, Adil Osmanović.
As the Secretary General of Basketball Federation of B&H, Harun Mahmutović recalled, the Council of Ministers of B&H allocated 100,000 BAM for the Basketball Federation, assessing that they had a meeting with the people who understand the problems of athletes and who want to help to the sport.
He invited all of those in the Parliament of B&H not to mix these athletes with politics because they do not deal with politics, they are dealing only with sport with the aim to enable the children of B&H engaged in sports to continue making these results not only in basketball but in all other sports.
“Do not stop the process of helping the sport in B&H. Do you really have the heart to raise your hand against this children and all the other athletes in B&H,” said Mahmutović.
He emphasized that for cadet’s participation for the basketball world championship about 500,000 BAM is needed, but if they manage to do it, B&H team will defeat those who allocate up to 5 million EUR for the competition.
Chairman Zvizdić congratulated the guys who, as he said, are the pride of B&H and who showed what means courage, persistence and reality, who aroused the hope and who showed that it is always worth to fight for your goals.
“All critics that could be made to the Council of Ministers, I accept in advance. I could make much bigger critics on the inherited system which is not really a system. We inherited a budget with 0 BAM planned for sports. We managed to start financing sports associations and manifestations,” said Zvizdić.
He added that these funds are not enough, but he promised that the Council of Ministers will continue financing the Basketball Federation of B&H and other associations which are achieving significant results, and that this victory and historic success will be a big boost for systematic solution of sport financing at the state level.
He announced that the initiative for a new law on sports will be initiated very soon as well as the initiative to increase the funds at the state level for three or four times, which should be directed to the needs of sports and culture.
“We will need the help of the media to work together to convince those who were against the fact that these young, golden boys, deserve regular funding and make us happy again with this kind of success that reunited B&H and put it on a sports map of Europe and the whole world, and showed that there are optimistic news in B&H, not only the problems,” concluded Zvizdić.
(Source: klix.ba)
