GRASSROOTS PHILOSOPHY OF THE FA OF SERBIA
Football for all, regardless of age, gender, the skills, level of ability. Promotion, protection and the development of football in all of its forms.
The participation in a football game through the fun, because, football is, above all, a game. A sense of pleasure, friendship, spiritual and physical progress with respect and acceptance of the principles of fair game – FAIR PLAY-a.
The aim of Grassroots in Serbia is to enable all of the social strata to involve themselves in football. Regardless of whether they will actively play football or some other sport, it is imperative to create a healthy and football oriented people.
Everyone is welcomed and everyone is invited!
About Grassroots
The term Grassroots has been derived from term base and it points out the part of football sport which represents the base, i.e. the foundation…towards the top and professional football.
The Grassroots represents 99% of the football sport.
UEFA has defined this term simply as: Each football that is not a professional one and it is not the top football, is defined as: GRASSROOTS, i.e. Basic football.
The Grassroots involves all aspects of football sport, regardless of skill level, gender, age, shape and size of the field of play and the type of football game. The basic premise of Grassroots is the mass character and also the variety and therefore the marks and star rating are being awarded to the National Associations based on the degree of development of these parameters.
National teams, National Associations, as well as the professional football clubs and their football schools i.e. Academies do not belong to the grassroots.
It can be noted clearly from this definition that every football for children is grassroots as well as: amateur football, including all of the women football until the National Team level; FUN FOOTBALL (fun schools of football) and school football.
The GRASSROOTS concept is accessed at the widest base, neither one of the segments can be neglected if the aim is to improve quality and to popularize football, otherwise it is inevitable to have the number of participants to be reduced at all levels, from the early age of players to the pro players, fans and so on.
At the first sight and observed in the short term there is no significant correlation between football kindergartens and pro football,but no significant recruitment of the youngest population will happen without an increase in the popularity of any sport.
Success, the good result – this is the best promotion of one sport. After each success of our National team or clubs, the interest of the youngest population has rapidly grown. The base and top of the pyramid are always correlated, and the quality of both parts will make everything stronger and it will ensure the continuous work, planned and programmed in a “step by step” method. An Interruption of continuity is always the most expensive part and it harms very much the success.
The Grassroots almost has no selecting process; the emphasis is on the number of participants and activities that are acceptable for all. These activities, of course, always have a competitive character as well (other than entertainment, recreation and entertainment, education) but they must respect the fair-play – to win, but allow to the other one to win respecting all the rules.
The characteristic of Grassroots is also a real need for inclusion of other entities, individuals and legal entities in all activities: parents, the employees of kindergartens and schools, Municipal sports Associations, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Youth and Sports, and etc.
The importance of basic football
Elite football is just the “top of the iceberg” when it comes to football.