BULGARIA
Georgi Filipov, AIM Sofia
The participation of the Olympic champion in the triple jump, Tereza Marinova, in a TV election endorsement of the UDS coalition is a typical example of how politicians use athletes for their purposes. There is nothing unusual in that -- politicians will always be less popular that successful athletes, and will always attempt to take advantage of their popularity. Bulgaria's present politicians show that they have not advanced at all compared with their predecessors from before 1989. The former communist head of the party and state, Todor Zivkov, had a habit of having his picture taken together with popular athletes each January
- Incumbent President Petar Stojanov perpetuated the custom. Even the place where it occurs is the same -- Bojana Palace, near Sofia.
State financial support to the "best way to endorse the country abroad," however, which was the rule in the past, no longer exists. A parliamentary debate on whether tax exemption should be granted to companies that sponsor sports seems as if it will never end. Despite this, active politicians are heading the good portion of sports federations, and should lobby for a greater share in the proceeds of sports lotteries and other state-run organizations and companies.
Soccer is the only sport that has managed to save itself from the onslaught of politicians, if the success of the Bulgarian national team at the 1994 World Championship in the U.S. is excluded. Back then, all the stars in Bulgaria's political sky struggled to depict the team's fourth place in the Championship as their exclusive merit, although many of them had never entered a stadium in their life. Since then, teams have feared that the president might come to watch their game. This refers to the urgent departure of the president of the time, Zeljo Zelev, for the U.S., to attend the semifinals match between Bulgaria and Italy. After a series of victories Bulgaria was defeated, and many said that in addition to objective reasons, Zelev also brought bad luck... Bulgarian elite teams and athletes increasingly suffer from a smaller schedule and lack of quality competition. Most sports federations are entirely in favor of Balkan championships. They only need someone to organize and finance them.