The largest water polo championship ever staged by World Aquatics has been underway in Zagreb since Monday.
A record 36 teams from all continents are competing at the World Men’s U16 Championships.
Yet several features normally associated with major international sporting events are noticeably absent.
There are no national flags displayed around the pool, and no national anthems are played before matches.
In official documents and communications, teams are identified not by their country names but by abbreviations. Italy, for example, competes as Team ITA, Spain as Team ESP, Hungary as Team HUN, and so on.
To remind you, in February, World Aquatics allowed Russia and Belarus to compete under their national names and flags in junior and youth competitions. The same decision was made regarding the senior competitions in April. (European Aquatics didn’t do so, and the teams from Russia and Belarus are still participating as Neutral Athletes in continental competitions).
European Commission, Croatian Government, World Aquatics
Last week, at the World Women’s U16 Championships in Zagreb, the Russian team competed under its national name and flag. Several days earlier, Russia participated in the Women’s World Cup Final Eight in Sydney under the same conditions.
Dduring the Women’s U16 Championships, the European Commission contacted the Croatian Government and expressed concern over Russian athletes competing under their national name and flag at an event held in a European Union member.
The Croatian Government then decided, just a few days before the start of the Men’s U16 Championships, that Russian athletes would not be permitted to compete under their national name and flag in Croatia until further notice.
World Aquatics subsequently accepted the Croatian Government’s position but decided that every participating team at the tournament in Zagreb would compete on equal terms.
As a result, no national names or flags are being used during the tournament. Instead, all national flags and coats of arms have been replaced by World Aquatics logos featuring the colors of each country’s flag.
National teams are funded by government budgets, sponsors, or private backers, all of whom expect that athletes will represent their countries at World Championships under their own national flags.
The question of Russia’s and Belarus’s participation in major international competitions is both complex and highly sensitive, as it reflects the difficult intersection of politics and sport. Yet those paying the price are the teenage athletes, who bear no responsibility for political decisions or international conflicts.
For many participants at the World Championships in Zagreb, this is the first opportunity to represent their country at a major international event. Many had undoubtedly dreamed of competing on the world stage under their national flag and with their national anthem. Instead, they have been denied that experience.
Nevertheless, perhaps all three institutions should, at the very least, have discussed the issue much earlier.
More articles about the World U16 Championships
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: total-waterpolo.com
