The Balkan Weightlifting Federation was founded on the 21 st of October, 2024, in Golem, Albania. The organization recognizes, in general, the activity of 11 National Federations from the Balkan region (ALB, BIH, BUL, CRO, GRE, KOS, MKD, ROU, SRB, SLO, TUR) and aims to develop our sport on the regional level, trying to create opportunities and competitions for the weightlifting community in this area of Europe.
The weightlifting activity in the Balkans is not a first, taking into account the many competitions held over time in this region and which, at some point, began to be recognized for the high level of performance. Among the biggest and most representative athletes who competed at the Balkan championships, there were also Naim Suleymanoglu, Pyrros Dimas and Antonio Krastev and many weightlifters who wrote history at the world and Olympic level.
Within this Foundation and Elective Assembly, was also chosen the leadership of the Federation, confirming Elez Gjoza as President of this European regional organization. Along with Gjoza, who also holds the position of President of the Albanian Weightlifting Federation, Nedim Masic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was elected as General Secretary, Talan Unlu, the President of the Weightlifting Federation of Türkiye, as Vice-President and the following members: Irena Mitrovska MKD – Executive Board Member Damjan Canzek SLO – Executive board Member Amar Music CRO – Executive Board Member
The establishment of this new regional Federation was welcomed and appreciated by the leaderships of the International and European Weightlifting Federations. Along with the delegations of the nine countries participating in the Founding and Elective Congress – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Türkiye – were present the President of the IWF, Mohamed Jalood, the EWF President, Kt. Antonio Conflitti and the President of the Albanian Olympic Committee, Fidel Ylli, a well-known friend and supporter of weightlifting.
All of them expressed messages of appreciation for the realization of this project and wished the new organization much success, at the same time, assuring the members that they will receive the necessary support for the regional development, but also words of appreciation and thanks for the Organizing Committee of the Host Federation and for all those involved for the success of this project.
Elez Gjoza expressed also his satisfaction, thanking the delegates for their support: “Thank you very much for your trust. I am very happy that, in the end, we were able to organize ourselves to lay the first brick on this ‘construction’. It will be a nice project of development and mutual help.”
The headquarters of the Balkan Weightlifting Federation will be in Tirana.
The EWF sends its sincere congratulations to all the Members of the Balkan WF and to the new Executive Board.