Predrag Manojlović: National mission of a sports visionary: Contribution to management of Olympic development

Abstract

In the period from 2001 to 2009, a conscious effort was taken in Serbia on many occasions aimed at determining the ways of development of as many factors of the national sports system (NSS) and its associated environment as possible. The term "national mission of a sports visionary" in the title of this editorial indicates that the changes occurred thanks to the individual person. Using ex-post consideration of available material and through inductive reasoning, while striving to realize the vision of Predrag Manojlović, a scholar of progress and development in this field, the paper aimed at reaching conclusions about the professional and scientific foundation of changes in the NSS and the National Olympic Committee (NOC). In order to avoid a subjective approach to inferencing, the analyzed documents were compared with the results presented in periodicals of the same period in terms of their meaning, terminology, timeliness, action plans, etc. The results of this qualitative analysis should also be understood as a contribution to Olympic studies, namely to the subfield of thereof - Management of Olympic Development. While reflecting on Manojlović's work, numerous examples of good practice models have been identified, which, through analysis of their wider meaning, have been classified into clusters of an innovative approach to sports organization and management: (1) NOC and its development, (2) an Athlete, (3) NSS and its development, (4) Sports coach, (5) Sponsors and donors, (6) the Republic of Serbia, (7) the Society of the Republic of Serbia, (8) Human resources for sports of the 21st century, (9) Multisport competitions, (10) Olympic studies and competencies of a leader of Olympic development, (11) International cooperation and the agenda of sports developments in Europe. The singularity of Manojlović, as a leader, stems from his open-mindedness. As a leader of Olympic development, his qualities were especially spirituality, morality, education, intelligence, comradery. He was dedicated to his task and aspired for achieving excellence, he was also brave, innovative, resolute, fair, discerning, reasonable, and principled. In the area of his work, Predrag Manojlović was ''Aretes'' - a true Olympian, an exceptional man, and his achievements in the field of sports stand out in many ways.