Antonio Jose Silva, the President of the Portuguese Aquatics Federation, has confirmed that he’s running for LEN President at the organization’s Extraordinary Congress on Feb. 5.
Silva is running on behalf of Europe 4 All Aquatics, a working group of European national federations that came together and gave the current LEN leadership a vote of no confidence in order to push for the extraordinary congress in early 2022.
📣 Announcement
On behalf of Europe 4 All Aquatics, António José Silva is delighted to confirm his standing in the LEN Presidential Election.
The vote will take place on Feb. 5, 2022 at the LEN Extraordinary Congress.#Europe4AllAquatics #E4AA #UnityInVision pic.twitter.com/k47mS32EZM
— Europe 4 All Aquatics (@E4AAquatics) December 22, 2021
The vote of no confidence engineered by Europe 4 All Aquatics has led to the upcoming extraordinary congress meeting in February, where LEN Bureau leadership positions, headlined by the presidency, will be up for election.
Current LEN President Paolo Barelli was re-elected to a third term in November 2020 by a decisive 86-13 vote, but the organization’s general trust has gone south on him in recent months.
A total of 24 nations are members of Europe 4 All Aquatics, including Germany, Russia, France, Greece and Switzerland, and the group says it will propose other candidates for elected positions in the LEN Bureau at the extraordinary congress.
“I represent a movement, called Europe 4 All Aquatics, which is made up of European federations who share a vision for the sport of aquatics and a commitment to positive change,” Silva said.
“We have Unity in Vision as our campaign slogan because we represent all types of federation, large or small, who share a desire for change that will help us all. We stand for Democracy, Integrity and Transparency.
“I am a candidate not because of personal ambition but to serve LEN as captain of a team.”
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Europe 4 All Aquatics says it has already sent a questionnaire to all LEN member federations seeking input on a proposed manifesto and action plan and will host meetings in the coming days.
The four pillars of Silva’s campaign for the presidency are:
- Integrity – Transparency and governance
- Our Sport – Making it accessible for all
- Aquatic Disciplines – learning and working together
- Sustainability – Making LEN fit for the future
“Our vision is for LEN to be an innovative, inclusive and diverse continental federation, underpinned by the highest standards of integrity, that works to develop our sport and serve its members and other stakeholders,” Silva said.
“We will unveil the detailed manifesto in the first week of January but will provide constant communication between now and February 5.”
