Back in 1814–1815, the Congress of Vienna brought Europe’s leaders together to shape the continent’s future after the fall of Napoleon. This October, Vienna will once again become the stage where decisions influencing Europe are made - this time in the world of bowling, as the European Bowling Federation (EBF) gathers for its 2025 Congress on October 26th, after the European Championship of Champions.
Today, the EBF has officially revealed the candidates for the positions of EBF
President and Presidium ahead of its upcoming Congress.
The current EBF President, Valgeir Guðbjartsson of Iceland, is the only candidate for the presidential post. Guðbjartsson, who was first elected in 2023 for a two-year term, is seeking another mandate.
Alongside the presidential election, the Congress will also vote for Presidium members.
One Presidium member will be elected for a term until the Congress of 2027, and two Presidium members will be elected for terms until the Congress of 2029. Two current members of the Presidium have submitted their candidacy for re-election.
The confirmed Presidium candidates are:
- Mr. Onder Gurkan (Turkey) – Current EBF Presidium member, nominated by the German Bowling Federation.
- Mr. Aki Aarikka (Finland) – President of the Finnish Bowling Federation, nominated by the Finland Bowling Federation.
- Mr. Or Aviram (Israel) – Member of the Israel Bowling Federation, nominated by the Israel Bowling Federation.
- Mrs. Sue Abela (Malta) – Member of the Malta Bowling Federation, nominated by the Malta Bowling Federation.
A highly controversial candidacy has also been submitted. Mr. Sergey Lisitsyn (russia), the current president of the russian bowling federation and an existing EBF Presidium member, has shown interest in another term. The European Union has restricted the issuing of visas to russian citizens, therefore Lisitsyn cannot travel within Europe and does not attend any of EBF events, yet expressed his desire to be on the candidate list.
Lisitsyn is known as a strong supporter of russian dictator Vladimir Putin and russia’s war in Ukraine.
On February 24, 2022, when russia invaded Ukraine, he was both an EBF Presidium member and part of the EBF Tournament Committee. Following the invasion, EBF President Addie Ophelders announced on March 2, 2022, that Lisitsyn would step down from his roles as Championships Director for the European Men’s Championships in Helsinki and the European Youth Championships in Wittelsheim, France. However, he retained his Presidium seat.
Later that month, according to Business Insider and Inside the Games, Lisitsyn took part in a pro-war rally in Moscow on March 18, where he openly supported Putin and the so-called "special military operation" in Ukraine. During that rally, he made statements justifying russia’s actions and accusing the West of spreading Russophobia.
"We see that the special operation being carried out today on Ukrainian soil allows us to achieve our goals with minimal losses for our fraternal peoples," a statement from Lisitsyn said, per Inside the Games. "Given the unprecedented external pressure from the West, which for eight years condoned the flourishing of nazism in Ukraine, today we clearly understand that the special operation was just an excuse to replicate Russophobic sentiments and escalate the situation around russia and everything russian."
Speaking to Erikas Jansonas of 'BowlingLife', EBF General Secretary Martina Jakobi explained that there are currently no official rules from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the candidacy of russian individuals in international federations.
“Currently the guidance from the IOC committee has no rules for candidacy/elections of Russian individuals in regards of participating in International Federation. As we follow their guidance, we do not restrict anybody from being a candidate for any position in our Federation. We have requested clear guidance from IBF on this case and are waiting for their reply,” Jakobi said.
BowlingLife has also contacted the International Bowling Federation (IBF) for clarification and is awaiting a response. The article will be updated once new information is available.
At present, russian and belarusian national teams are banned from participating in both EBF and IBF tournaments. This raises questions about how he could physically attend the EBF Congress in Vienna, as the EU has suspended its visa facilitation agreement with Russia, whose interests Lisitsyn would represent if re-elected to the Presidium, and how whould he attend EBF events in the future.
According to United Nations statistics, over 14,000 civilian deaths have been
recorded in Ukraine since the start of the war, including 733 children. More
than 36,000 civilians have been injured, including 2,285 children.
Ukrainian national teams continue to be active participants in
European and World Championships.
