Enduro Team Vodno asks Ministry of Sport to explain 2026 subsidies
Club questions criteria after several riders received only hundreds of denari, including seven-time champion Antonio Damjanovski.
On 25 September 2026 Enduro Team Vodno published a statement demanding clarification from the Ministry of Sport after several of the club's riders received what the team calls unexpectedly small subsidy amounts for 2026.
Club questions the criteria behind the payouts
Enduro Team Vodno listed individual amounts awarded to some of its athletes and said those figures raise “serious questions about the criteria used to evaluate sporting results.” The sums named by the club include: Antonio Damjanovski, seven-time motocross champion — 817 denari; Viktor Andreevski, MX Junior champion — 1,170 denari; Marko Popovski, one of the youngest Macedonian riders — 728 denari; Mihail Stojkovski, Alpe Adria champion — 1,082 denari; Eva Damjanovska, the only actively competing girl in the sport — 994 denari. The club notes the combined total for these four riders is 4,791 denari.
In its statement the club emphasized it is not seeking special treatment but transparency. "We are not asking for mercy or special treatment. We want to know how titles, international results, young athletes and invested effort are evaluated. When a seven-time champion receives 817 denari, and an international champion 1,082 denari, the public has the right to ask by what criteria these decisions were made," Enduro Team Vodno wrote.
Enduro Team Vodno addressed a direct question to the Ministry and to Minister Borko Ristovski: "What are the criteria by which these amounts were determined and how exactly are the sporting results of Macedonian motocross riders evaluated?"
The club stressed that behind every result are years of training, travel, competitions, personal investments, crashes and the risk of injury, and that its athletes will continue to train and represent North Macedonia. It added that state institutions responsible for sports development and support should explain how the work of athletes who achieve results at home and abroad is assessed.
Enduro Team Vodno also reminded readers that the club will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2027 and that its members have won 15 club titles across motocross, enduro and speed disciplines. The club called on the Ministry of Sport to publish the evaluation criteria and the method used to calculate subsidies, saying: "We ask for nothing more than fair and transparent treatment of athletes."
Photo: press material from the event
