The headquarters of European Aquatics will be relocated from Nyon in Switzerland, where it has been based since 2015, to Belgrade.
This decision was made at the 2025 European Aquatics Congress held in Tbilisi.
The possibility of relocating was one of the topics discussed at a recent meeting in Belgrade, held prior to the draw for the European Championships. Attendees at that meeting included European Aquatics President Antonio Silva and Zoran Gajic, the Serbian Minister of Sport, among others.
“The European Aquatics 2025 Congress in Tbilisi approved a relocation agreement to move the federation’s headquarters from Nyon in Switzerland, where it has been located since 2015, to Belgrade. The switch to the Serbian capital will be dependent on the Serbian Parliament passing a law to make the move legally possible. An Extraordinary Congress will subsequently be held to approve the final detailed contract”, European Aquatics announced.
After the Congress, Antonio Silva said:
“The process to consider creating moving to a new home for European Aquatics has taken a year to date and has been a fair and transparent process based on a rigorous methodology which assessed the value of offers based on the location’s accessibility, facilities, level of financial support, local conditions and quality of life.
He underlined that an independent agency, Glendon Hill, had managed the negotiations between EA and prospective hosts. Silva thanked the EA officers and Bureau members Arno Pajek and Erik van Heijningen, who formed a task force to manage the complex process, as well as EA Vice President Vanja Udovicic, who helped facilitate negotiations with the Serbian authorities.
Antonio Silva with EA Vice Presidents Kyriakos Giannopoulos (left) and Vanja Udovicic (right) in Belgrade two weeks ago. Photo by Slobodan Sandic/WPF of Serbia
“The agreement accepted proposes a rent-free 500 square metre office in a city centre location and access to aquatic facilities as well as guaranteed hosting fees for 10 years (with an option to extend by five more). The Congress delegates gave the green light to complete the necessary legal steps so that we may have a final contract to sign off on in the coming months.”, Silva said (source: European Aquatics Press Release)
