ETTU | 17 Oct 2024

Pedro MOURA Elected as ETTU President at the 2024 Congress in Linz

Pedro MOURA has been elected as the ETTU President for a four-year term during the 2024 ETTU Congress held at the LIEBHERR European Championships in Linz. For the first time in 40 years, the ETTU Presidential election was contested by more than one candidate, with both MOURA and Hungarian Table Tennis Association President Imre KOVACSICS addressing the delegates before the voting process.

In the election, MOURA secured 35 votes, defeating KOVACSICS, who received 19 votes.

In addition to the presidential election, the Congress confirmed Heike AHLERT of Germany as the ETTU Deputy President and Sandra DEATON of England as Vice President for finances.

The elected ETTU Vice Presidents are Zoran PRIMORAC of Croatia (46 votes), Didier LEROY of Belgium (42), Ina JOZEPSONE of Latvia (41), Jaroslaw Franciszek KOLODZIEJCZYK of Austria (31), and Sonja GREFBERG of Finland (29).

“I stand before you with deep gratitude and immense pride, humbled by the trust you have placed in me. It is an honor to accept the responsibility of serving as President of the European Table Tennis Union, and I pledge to continue dedicating myself to this position,” said MOURA. “First, let me express my heartfelt thanks to all the member associations who have supported me throughout my journey as Acting President over the past two years. The progress we have made together is a testament to the power of collaboration, unity, and shared vision. This is not an achievement of one individual, but a collective victory for all who are passionate about our sport.”

Reflecting on the newly elected Executive Board, MOURA added, “To the new team, I am absolutely sure your passion for this game, your expertise, and your commitment to ETTU will make us even stronger. I hope we can all work as a team with 'Table Tennis First' always in mind. Also, to all candidates not elected, your contribution will be fundamental for the development and growth of ETTU. I look forward to continuing this journey with all of you, working together to enhance our competitions, grow our sport at the grassroots level, and foster even greater cooperation across our member associations.”

MOURA also highlighted an upcoming significant event: “In May, there will be an election for the ITTF presidency and its respective executive board. I must take this moment to acknowledge the current president, Mrs. Petra SÖRLING. Her leadership and commitment to the sport have been exemplary, and her election to the IOC was well deserved. It is crucial for table tennis to remain part of the Olympic movement and have a voice within the International Olympic Committee.”

At the start of the meeting, Austria's TT Federation President Wolfgang GOTSCHKE welcomed the guests, stating, “For the past 18 months, we have worked hard to create the best setup for the Championships. I want to thank all the partners and volunteers for their great effort.”

ITTF President Petra SÖRLING also addressed the Congress, saying, “When I spoke at the Assembly in Busan, I said that table tennis in the world has momentum. After Paris, we can see that European table tennis has momentum as well. Everyone who attended the Olympics and Paralympics this summer felt it, as did the people watching at home. It was great to see such a big event in Europe, and it’s important to keep that momentum going.”

The delegates voted in favor of a proposal regarding the Europe Top 16 Cup. The new rules state that the following players will be invited: the current European Champion, the winner of the previous Europe Top 16 Cup, and the top 19 (instead of 13) players from the latest European Rankings, excluding the European Champion and the previous Top 16 Cup winner. If a player from the host association qualifies, the top 20 (instead of 14) will be invited. Additionally, the rule limiting participation to two players from each association has been abolished, and all matches will now be the best of five games instead of seven.

The Congress also approved a proposal to use the ETTU Rankings for seeding in all ETTU competitions (except club competitions), effective immediately.

ETTU proudly aproved Honorary Membership to Richard SCRUTON of England by standing ovations aplause. The Badges of Honour were presented to Andreas GEORGIOU of Cyprus, Adriana ZAMFIR of Romania, Alex ANASTASI of Malta, Genadijs KARTUZOVS of Latvia, and Henk HOMMES of Netherlands.

The Congress also elected the ETTU Members of the ITTF Council: Richard SCRUTON of England (43 votes), Jorgen PERSSON of Sweden (43), Zoran PRIMORAC of Croatia, Miguel Angel Machado SOBRADOS of Spain (38), Sonja GREFBERG of Finland (32), Phil McCALLUM of Wales (31), and Aleksandar MATKOVIC of Serbia (31). ETTU Deputy President Heike AHLERT of Germany is ex-officio member of the ITTF Council.

The 8 members will have to be ratified by the 2025 ITTF AGM and their membership will become effective the day following the AGM.

The Congress approved the following seven candidates for the ETTU Board of Appeal: Sergio Castanheira of Portugal, Olaf DIELS of Netherlands, Peter MEYER of Germany, Pekka KOLPPANEN of Finland, Gottfried FORSTHUBER of Austria, Adam BUŁAT of Poland and Jeton ORUQI of Kosovo.