Spyros Capralos, the newly elected president of the European Olympic Committees, hopes the Western country will bid to host the European Games in 2027.

While the games have attracted offers and interest from Western European countries such as the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, the first three tournaments will be held in Central or Eastern Europe.

The inaugural games were held in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2015.

Minsk hosted the 2019 European Games – awarded first to the Netherlands and then to Russia, before the European Olympic Committee announced it would be held in the Belarusian capital – and the Polish city of Krakow Malopolska is set to host a multi-sport event in 2023.

Concerns about human rights in Azerbaijan dominated preparations for the first session, which continued before the Minsk Games in 2019.

Poland has been criticized for its attitude towards homosexuals, and Malopolska among the regions of the country declares itself free from “gay ideology”.

The city of Krakow Malopolska will host the 2023 European Games © Getty Images

Malopolska is one of 100 regions in Poland that made a controversial declaration that led to the condemnation of the European Parliament.

This year’s report notes that the state of gay rights in Poland is the worst in the European Union.

“We started with Baku, a lot of people thought the Olympics would not be successful, but it was, and then there were questions about Minsk and an extraordinary Games were organized,” Capralos said.

“There is always criticism of any regulator – we don’t have a regulator that hasn’t been criticized.

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“The Poles are committed to good games.

“I am convinced that the European Games will be successful, some of the events will be the Olympic qualifiers, others will be the European Championships.

“After Poland, it will be easier to find a new regulator and hopefully we will move to the West.”

This week, the EOC signed an agreement with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to reach an exclusive deal for the 2023 and 2027 European Games.

Capralos said the memorandum of understanding signed with Eurovision Sport – the sports arm of the European Broadcasting Union’s Public Service Broadcasting Union – “is an important step towards increasing the popularity of the European Games” across the continent.