The Minister of Youth and Sports, Encho Keryazov, announced that work is beginning on updating the List of Events of Significant Public Importance, which has not been changed since 2011.
Keryazov held a meeting with representatives of the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) and public media, and after it, he provided more details about the discussions in a post on his social media profile.
"Today I held a meeting with representatives of CEM and representatives of public media with one clear goal – more significant sports events with Bulgarian participation to reach Bulgarian viewers," the sports minister wrote.
Keryazov directly linked the meeting to the procedure for updating the list and announced a specific deadline for the next steps.
"It is especially important that the list of events of public importance has not been updated since 2011. We made a joint commitment to work on its updating within two weeks," the minister pointed out.
This is also the most specific information after the meeting. In the official announcement of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the two-week deadline was not specified, nor was the direct connection of the talks with the updating of the list mentioned.

Which sports events will be included?

The big question now is which sports events will be proposed for inclusion in the updated list.
Neither the official announcement of the MMS nor Keryazov's social media post specifies particular sports, championships, or tournaments. There is also no information on whether volleyball, and more specifically the matches of the Bulgarian national teams, were discussed during the meeting.
The topic is particularly important for volleyball, as Volleyweek.bg has already sent an official journalistic inquiry to the Ministry of Youth and Sports precisely in connection with the procedure initiated by CEM.
We asked whether the matches of the Bulgarian national teams – men and women – at world and European championships should be designated as events of significant public importance. Separately, we raised the question of whether the same should apply to Bulgaria's matches in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) and whether the MMS would specifically propose their inclusion.

The MMS has not yet given a specific answer regarding volleyball.

In its response to Volleyweek.bg, the Ministry confirmed that it had received CEM's letter and supports the updating of the list.
"The MMS supports the updating of the list and expresses readiness to assist in identifying sports events that could be designated as events of significant public importance," the sports department stated then.
However, a specific answer regarding volleyball did not follow. The MMS did not indicate whether, in its opinion, Bulgaria's matches from world and European championships should be included in the list and whether the same status should apply to VNL matches.
Now there is a specific time horizon for the next step. According to Keryazov, work on updating the list should be done within two weeks.
This does not necessarily mean that after this period a final new list will be adopted – the minister spoke of a commitment "to work on its updating," not to complete the procedure within two weeks.

"Bulgarian sports deserve more airtime"

Keryazov motivated the need for the change with viewers' access to major international competitions with Bulgarian participation.
"When Bulgarian athletes defend the national flag at major international forums, people in our country should have the opportunity to watch and support them. Bulgarian sports deserve more airtime, and Bulgarian viewers – access to the successes of their athletes," Keryazov wrote on social media.
It is not yet clear what the updated list will look like and which events will be included in it. For volleyball, the specific question also remains whether the matches of the Bulgarian national teams from world and European championships and the VNL will be among the events for which wider access for the Bulgarian audience will be sought.