As Jadran Herceg Novi prepares to travel to Marseille for their opening Champions League game (tomorrow), the club have released a statement highlighting their ongoing struggle to secure an appropriate venue for their home games.
Last season, Jadran Herceg Novi was forced to move their home games to Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, due to inadequate pool facilities in Montenegro.
The Herceg Novi-based club, one of the biggest in Montenegro, cited ongoing issues with the Škver pool, which falls short of the European Swimming Federation’s (European Aquatics) requirements. The pool, housed under an inflatable dome, lacks sufficient lighting and the space needed for TV broadcasts, among other organizational necessities.
The issue is part of a larger crisis facing water polo infrastructure in Montenegro.
The country, renowned for its success in the sport, has seen its facilities deteriorate over the past few years. The collapse of the roof at the Igalo Institute’s pool in July 2021 left Herceg Novi without a functional winter facility for three years. Kotor, another major water polo hub, did not have an operational pool for five years, and the pool in Nikšić has been closed for over six months without any indication of reopening soon.
Jadran HN have also highlighted the financial strain that comes with using Montenegrin pools.
Last year, the club had to pay additional fees for a training session in Podgorica before the final of the Montenegrin Cup, as bad weather rendered their Herceg Novi pool unusable. With the cost of organizing Champions League matches in Montenegro being prohibitively high, Jadran mopted to play their group-stage home games in Trebinje, where they received extensive support from local authorities.
The city of Trebinje, as expected, has welcomed Jadran with open arms, offering the club all the necessary conditions for both training and matches, free of charge. Local officials recognized the value of hosting European competition and have provided substantial organizational support.
Despite the challenges, the Montenegrin club remains hopeful that improvements to the country’s sporting infrastructure will follow. “Water polo is Montenegro’s most successful sport, and it deserves facilities that reflect that,” a club representative said. “We hope that in the near future, the necessary investments will be made so we can continue to compete at the highest level while playing in our own country.”
Jadran upcoming Champions League matches at home, the first against Barceloneta on 16th October, will continue to be held in Trebinje, with hopes that a solution to their home pool issues can be found in the future.