Total-waterpolo-blog-logo-238×48Total-waterpolo-blog-logo-retina-104×96Total-waterpolo-blog-logo-238×48Total-waterpolo-blog-logo-238×48
  • News
  • CroMasters 2024
  • SHOP NOW
  • Livescore
    • Champions League
      • Champions League 2023/24
      • Women’s Champions League 2023/24
      • Champions League 2022/23
    • AUSTRIA 🇦🇹
      • Bundesliga Women
      • Bundesliga Men
      • Supercup
      • Cup
      • Regionalliga Ost
      • U-21 Women
      • U-19
      • U-17
      • U-15
      • U-13
      • U-12
      • U-11
    • SLOVENIA 🇸🇮
      • Slovenian championship 2022/23
      • Slovenian Cup 2022/23
    • Nordic League
      • Nordic league 2022/23
      • Nordic League 2021/22
      • Nordic Women’s League 2022
    • Alpe Waterpolo League
    • BWIPA
      • Next Generation 2023 – Men
      • Next Generation 2023 – Women
      • Barcelona Masters Cup
        • 30+ Women
        • 40+ Women
        • 30+ Men
        • 40+ Men
        • 50+ Men
      • HaBaWaBa Spain Plus
      • HaBaWaBa Easter U12
      • HaBaWaBa Easter U10
    • Tournaments
      • Herceg Novi Masters 2023 “30+”
      • Herceg Novi Masters 2023 “40+”
      • Budva Masters 2023
      • Duisburg 98 Cup 2023
      • Tintilinić 2023
      • Ruhr Games 2023
      • Sunčana Kapica 2023
      • Total Waterpolo Trophy U-15
      • Montenegro Cup 2022 (U16)
  • National
    • Hungarian League
    • French League
    • Spanish League
  • International
    • Tokyo 2020 Olympic Water Polo
    • World Championships
      • Fukuoka 2023
        • Fukuoka 2023 Men
        • Fukuoka 2023 Women
      • WC U20 Men 2023 – Romania
      • Budapest 2022 Men
      • Budapest 2022 Women
      • Gwangju 2019
      • Budapest 2017
    • European Championships
      • Split 2022 Men
      • Split 2022 Women
      • Budapest 2020
      • Barcelona 2018
    • Other
      • World Cup 2023
      • WL Belgrade 2019
      • World Cup – Berlin 2018
      • Junior WC Prague 2021
      • Junior EC Podgorica 2022
  • Total Player Award
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
✕

Silva: “Calendar has a significant impact on promotion”

January 28, 2022

António José Silva (Portuguese Aquatics Federation), candidat for LEN president

The long-awaited changes in the leadership of the European Aquatics Federation are expected to take place in a week’s time at an extraordinary congress to be held in Germany. After years of Barelli’s rule, it seems that the initiative gathered in Europe 4 All Aquatics will take the lead over LEN. Of course, we are interested in how this change could affect water polo, so we decided to talk to António José Silva, candidate for president of LEN and Josip Varvodić, candidate for vice president.

Mr. Silva, in addition to the fact that you are the current president of the Portuguese Aquatics Federation, your biography states that in your youth you played water polo in addition to swimming?

“That’s correct. I was mostly involved in swimming, but for a few of seasons at Ginásio Clube de Vila Real, I tried my hand at water polo. Looking back on that time in my life, I have a lot of pleasant memories.”

Mr. Varvodić, your background is completely related to swimming.

“When you live in Croatia, it’s impossible not to be involved with water polo 🙂 Yes, swimming is my true passion, which I owe to my father Ivan (who served as president of the Croatian Swimming Federation for many years), but I’m also well-versed in all aspects of water polo in Croatia and abroad. I’ve worked on several water polo competitions as a member of the FINA and LEN Medical Committees.”

Antonio Silva and Josip Varvodić with FINA President Husain Al-Musallam

What is the idea behind the “Europe 4 All Aquatics” initiative?

Silva: “It is a movement for change in European Aquatics, comprised of member federations who share a fresh vision for the future of aquatics and a commitment to meaningful changes.

After the FINA elections, it is time to establish a new path in LEN. Currently, the initiative is supported by 40 European federations. Smaller and larger federations share the same aim for transparent development of European Aquatics, and following the extraordinary congress in February, we will hopefully begin to establish a new modern path.”

The manifesto you have recently published contains four key pillars of your future plans – Integrity, Accessibility, Development and Sustainability. Can you give us more details on how these will affect water polo?

Silva: “First, I want to point out that our manifesto has been created in coordination with all federation members of our initiative. 

When it comes to Integrity, it is a component that must be adopted across the entire organization. During the last few years, we’ve seen a lot of ambiguous decisions and actions. All business and financial activities will be transparent, and decision-making processes will be reformed. As a consequence, all stakeholders, including the general public, will be aware of our plans, responsibilities, and outcomes.

One of our key objectives will be to attract more children to swimming pools across Europe. Swimming dropout programs will be implemented, bringing more kids to water polo clubs.

In terms of development, we will devise various programs for countries in various stages of water polo development. They will share their knowledge and experiences so that everyone can learn and progress more quickly. Water polo needs to become a product “consumed” throughout the Europe.”

You are probably aware that there are many problems with competitions. On club and national level. How do you plan to resolve those issues?

Varvodić: “We must, without a doubt, rethink the competition system. It’s pointless to have so many wild cards in the Champions League. We will also change the calendar and game schedule in order to reach a larger audience. FINA and LEN will collaborate for the first time in many years, which will undoubtedly simplify many decisions. Hopefully, soon we’ll be able to play club competitions throughout the summer months :).

It is also vital to mention that a Water Polo Reform Committee will be formed. We’ll bring together players, coaches, federation members, referees and specialists to develop action plans for all the water polo adjustments needed.”

We can’t conduct this interview without asking about promotional activities in water polo. What are your plans?

Silva: “Since many things weren’t transparent so far,  we need to “get in” the LEN to see the current contracts with sponsors, partners and broadcasters.
What we know is that we need to set up the proper structure in both the marketing and communications departments. Define the strategy, short term actions, and work very closely with federations to implement everything properly.

Venues need to be more appealing, we must have broadcasting standards for each level of the competition, we need modern communication with fans… Calendar and schedule, as previously mentioned, also have a significant impact on promotion. There’s a lot of work to be done, but there’s a lot of room for improvement.”

Varvodić: “I would like to add beach water polo. Huge water polo promotional tool. You can expect a lot of novelties in that direction.”

Thank you for your time, and we hope we won’t have to deal with any more Poolshits from LEN 🙂

Silva: “Thank you for everything you did for water polo so far and keep up the good work!”

Varvodić: “I am always impressed when I see people from my country achieving world recognition and Total Waterpolo is definitely in this group. Congratulations!”

TW Press
TW Press

Related posts

September 29, 2023

How can I stay up to date with each country’s national championships on Total Waterpolo?


Read more

Gergelyi Burian Photo by Laszlo Balogh/Total Waterpolo

September 28, 2023

Favorites earn away victories in Hungary


Read more

Denes Varga Photo by Dj. Kostic/VK Novi Beograd

September 27, 2023

Ferencvaros and Jadran Split collect points after late comebacks


Read more

Featured Projects

01 - 06 July, 2024 - Limited Availability

Book NowLearn More

SUPPORT US ON PATREON

If you share our passion for water polo worldwide, consider becoming a cherished contributor to our cause, with as little as 5$/month.

SUPPORT US

Learn More

Custom Team Gear

LEARN MORE

Shop Now

Looking for something?

✕
  • 0
    How can I stay up to date with each country’s national championships on Total Waterpolo?
    September 29, 2023
  • Italian League 2023 – Women
    September 28, 2023
  • Italian League 2023 – Men
    September 28, 2023
  • Home
  • Water Polo News
  • WearWaterpolo Shop
  • Contact Us
  • Project Superstar – TW Camp
  • BIWPA
  • Custom Team Equipment
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
© 2021 Total Waterpolo. All Rights Reserved.
Total Waterpolo Arena

We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience and provide personalized content. By clicking "Accept All Cookies" or continuing to browse this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT