Awards-presentation ceremony was held on 17 December 2024 in the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo in organisation of the Federal Minister of Culture and Sports. The awards were presented pursuant to the Regulation on Defining Criteria for Presenting Awards to Sportsmen, Sport Workers and Sport Associations from the Federation of BiH for Top Sport Results Achieved at International Competitions achieved, This year, the awards were for the first time presented also to sportsmen and coaches in non-Olympic sports.

Awards were handed out by the prime-minister of the Federation of BiH Nermin Nikšić and Federal Minister of Culture and Sports Sanja Vlaisavljević, with a help of Edna Šunjić, golden BiH Olympian and member of the Sportsmen Council of the European Special Olympics, recently employed by the Federal Minister of Culture and Sports.

– Our sportsmen have been acting as true ambassadors of BiH. That is really immeasurable and impossible to thank for.  I would like also to congratulate to the Ministry for their efforts. We adopted this Regulation in 2012, as a result of the sports result of that time, when we decided to create a document to officially regulate awards-giving. However, we have this at the Federation level and I would be much happier if we had it at the state level too, with bigger awards. Still, I am happy that the Government of the Federation of BiH is capable of securing funds for the awards and for the preparations – said the prime-minister Nikšić.

Minister Vlaisavljević pointed out that that year’s awards were a real step forward and the promise kept from the previous year.

– It is a huge pleasure to stand here, before you, but it is a challenge, too, especially to face you, the young people who are a reflection of this country in its best light. We have made a giant step forward by reviving the Regulation that enables awarding of non-Olympic sports. We shall certainly strive to continue this trend. This year, the sportsmen representing the non-Olympic sports are with us here, where they deserve to be. Their committed team work is huge. We promised to found the Sport Foundation to support the young and talented sportsmen in a systematic way. I believe that next year we will share experience about that. – said minister Vlaisavljević.

Representatives of para-Olympic and Olympic sports Ismail Barlov and Lana Pudar thanked for the awards.

– Last year was very challenging. Title of the European champion, medal at the Olympic Games and A norm for the World Championship. I am grateful for the award. It means a lot for continuation of my career. It will enable me to achieve even better results. It would make me really happy if the sport would be resolved systematically and if the Sport Act would be adopted. – said Barlov.

BiH swimmer Lana Pudar said that the Government of the Federation of BiH had been supporting development of her career since the very beginning.

– I have to express my gratitude to the Government of the Federation of BiH and to the Ministry for the continuous support since the beginning of my career. The awarded funds mean a lot to me for the preparations and I am certain that the support will continue. For me, it is a true honour to attend this award-presentation ceremony and to receive an award for the achieved top results. There will be much more of them in the future. – said Pudar.

Young karatist Emina Sipović expressed how important the award for non-Olympic sports was for her.

– I represent non-Olympic sports. This year was very challenging. I won the title of the European champion, I won the bronze medal at the World Championship. Karate was Olympic sport at the Olympic Games 2020, but lost that status in Paris. The credit goes to minister Vlaisavljević that the awards are now given to non-Olympic sports too. That is very important for us and gives us additional motivation to represent our homeland. I want to express my gratitude to the Federal Minister of Culture and Sports. – said Sipović.

The successful karatist Anes Bostandžić addressed the audience:

• Thank you for the continuous promotion of karate. At the moment, I am the best ranked competitor in the history of BiH. This was the most successful year for me so far – I won the title of the European champion U21 and I also became the world vice-champion. Additionally, after seven years, I returned the senior European medal to Bosnia and Herzegovina. I would like to use this opportunity to thank the Federation Government and the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports for having recognised our sport and awarding our results. That motivates us to achieve the same or even better results next year.

Kick-boxer Albert Ugrinčić as ranked at the second place at the European Senior Championship in Greece. He pointed out that recognition and support of the FBiH Government and the Ministry meant a lot to the sportsmen:

• I would like to use this opportunity to greet all of you and thank for the support that means a lot for us in the coming preparation. It will be a boost for achieving even better results in presenting our Bosnia and Herzegovina in the best possible light at the largest competitions. – said Ugrunčić.

The amount of KM 880,000 was allocated this year to awarding the sportsmen according to the Regulation on Defining Criteria for Presenting Awards to Sportsmen, Sport Workers and Sport Associations from the Federation of BiH for Top Sport Results Achieved at International Competitions.

The amount of KM 300.000 was allocated by the Decision on Adopting the Funds Spending Programme with Criteria for Allocating Funds from the Current Transfers Defined by the Budget of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Year 2024 to the Federal Minister of Culture and Sports for “awarding the sportsmen from the Federation of BiH for results achieved at international competitions in non-Olympic sports”. This is the first time that the awards are given to sportsmen and coaches who achieved top sports results in non-Olympic sports.