[1] In 1992, as a member of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), 34-year-old Čović started his climb up the political ladder with a position of executive board vice-president in charge of economy and finances at the Belgrade city assembly.

Čović was sacked from the mayoral post in mid-January 1997 by the Serbian president and SPS party leader Slobodan Milošević amid the months-long protests in Serbia over the November 1996 municipal elections fraud.

[4] From 24 October 2000 to 25 January 2001 he was a member of the trio Co-Prime Ministers together with Milomir Minić from SPS and Spasoje Krunić from the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) that transitionally governed Serbia after the Bulldozer Revolution, when Mirko Marjanović was sacked.

[8] In 1991, Čović became involved with Serbian basketball club KK ILR Železnik, a dormant sports collective for workers of the state-owned Ivo Lola Ribar metallurgical factory.

In late 1995, while simultaneously performing the city of Belgrade mayoral job as well as Serbian National Assembly MP duties, Čović became president of the Yugoslav Basketball Federation (KSJ), succeeding Veselin Barović.

At the time when Čović came on board to lead the federation, FR Yugoslavia national team led by Duda Ivković were the reigning European champions, having returned to international competition following a four-year exile due to the UN embargo.