Bulgarian wrestling must urgently emerge from the crisis, said Georgi Kalchev – chairman of CSKA Sports Clubs, member of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation and former European champion. According to him, the last year was the hardest for one of the most successful individual sports in Bulgaria.
An extraordinary General Assembly of the Federation is coming up, at which it is expected that unification between the different parties in the conflict will be sought. “Bulgarian wrestling has experienced its worst year and it urgently needs to get out of this situation“, said Kalchev.
Kalchev blamed management conflicts for the crisis
According to him, personal interests and the “own ego“ of some of the people in the management have led to the collapse of the federation's authority. Kalchev said that the lack of sufficient dialogue has prevented proposals to end the conflict and for the normal work of the national teams from being discussed.
He pointed out that because of the situation, some members of the management have left. According to him, cases with political nuances have also entered the federation, and the dispute has reached the European Prosecutor's Office. This statement was made by Kalchev within the framework of his public statement.
Kalchev also said that small clubs have remained isolated from the processes and have been forced to observe the conflict from the sidelines. According to him, it is these clubs that need support the most, as coaches often work without sufficient resources and assistance.
Support for Todor Angelov
Kalchev supported the candidacy of Todor Angelov for a leadership position in the federation. He described Angelov as a person with extensive experience in wrestling and business and stated that his candidacy could mark the beginning of unification.
“It is very important for him to choose a team, because the voivode himself is not the voivode“, said Kalchev. According to him, the new leadership should work both to end the internal confrontation and to restore Bulgaria's international positions.
Kalchev pointed out that the country no longer has representatives and influence in a number of structures of the World Wrestling Federation UWW and its European organization. He recalled that in the past Bulgaria had a vice-president of the world headquarters and a president of the European headquarters, as well as three or four judges at Olympic Games.
According to him, the crisis has also affected the participation of leading competitors. Kalchev said that Olympic, world and European champions have been stopped from participating due to internal disagreements, and his proposals for a way out of the situation have been rejected by the majority of the Governing Board.
Sources: Sportal