NOVI SAD TO HOST THE EUROPEAN VETERAN TABLE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP IN JUNE

The Mayor of Novi Sad, Žarko Mićin, along with Tatjana Medved, a member of the City Council for Sports and Youth, held a meeting with Pedro Moura, the President of the European Table Tennis Union. He arrived at the City Hall accompanied by a delegation from the Table Tennis Federation of Serbia to discuss the upcoming European Veterans Championship, scheduled to take place from June 15 to June 22, 2025, at the Novi Sad Fair.

Mayor Mićin expressed his confidence that Novi Sad will be able to organize the European Veterans Championship, the biggest table tennis tournament on the old continent, with excellence. He additionally addressed Novi Sad's long history as the site of important table tennis competitions, such as the World Championship in 1981, the European Senior Championship in 1974, and the European Youth Championship in 1988 and 2003.

-Table tennis is closely associated with Novi Sad, a city that has a strong athletic culture. Our SPENS, one of the city's emblems, was constructed especially for the World Table Tennis Championship in the 1980s and embodies the history of this well-liked sport. In light of Novi Sad's candidacy for the 2026 European City of Sports title, I am optimistic that this,  as the one of the significant sporting events held in Serbian Athens, will help us win this esteemed honor following multiple accolades – said Mayor Mićin.

Pedro Moura underlined that the tournament will be a fantastic sporting event, drawing in over 5,000 spectators from nearly every European nation, or over 3,000 competitors split across 11 age groups, in addition to a large number of table tennis enthusiasts.

- I am confident that this competition will also help to develop the city's economy and promote it because of its considerable tourist dimension – Moura added.

Members of the delegation of the Table Tennis Federation of Serbia Predrag Ničić, Dan Fracile, Vladimir Šiška, Marko Jevtović and Dušan Cvejić emphasized that they have great support from the president of the ETTU (European Table Tennis Union). They stated that, as the championship's host nation, they are prepared to handle any organizational and logistical difficulties that may arise. They suggested that Mayor Miićin be elected president of the championship's organizing committee, which he accepted.

Novi Sad, 11th March 2025