Earlier today in Budapest, World Aquatics and the government of Hungary announced a comprehensive partnership to provide scholarships that will enable a future generation of aquatic sports athletes to excel both in sport and in life. The partnership is enabled by the Hungaricum Sports Scholarship Programme. It also forms part of the work being undertaken by World Aquatics to move its headquarters to Budapest, where offices for staff will be accompanied by training facilities for top aquatics athletes from around the world.
Scholarship holders will benefit from six critical elements: training opportunities in world-class facilities, world-class coaching, tuition for Hungarian university courses, a monthly stipend, accommodation, and public health care coverage.
The partnership agreement we have signed today with the Hungarian government is as important to us as the creation of the buildings that will become our new home in Budapest. I am very proud of the way we are taking a comprehensive and combined approach to athletes and facilities
“By combining opportunities in both sport and education for leading aquatics athletes from around the world, we are demonstrating our commitment to helping them achieve their full potential as athletes and as people.” said World Aquatics President Husain Al-Musallam.
The educational opportunities will enable scholarship holders to study either in Hungarian or in a foreign language, at any level (BA/BSc, MA/MSc, and PhD/DLA) and in any field of study available. 20 scholarships will be available up until the official opening of the World Aquatics Development Centre in Budapest. From the Centre’s opening, 200 scholarships will be available.
Hungary has long embraced the values and power of sport to forge strong international bonds of friendship and understanding between people. Today’s agreement with World Aquatics demonstrates just how committed Hungary is to our support for the international organisations of sport in achieving objectives that we all understand to be very worthy
“Hungary’s great sportsmen and women have often gone on to achieve great things in their post-sporting careers and this aspect of athlete development is something we are very happy to provide for aquatics athletes around the world.” concluded the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary Péter Szijjártó.