JOVAN ŠURBATOVIĆ, GENERAL SECRETARY | "SPANISH MODEL" IN ORDER TO PREVENT ILLEGAL TRADING IN THE COMPETITIVE STATUS OF CLUBS

On the occasion of various media interpretations of the decision of the Emergency Committee of the Football Association of Serbia regarding the fulfillment of football leagues, the General Secretary of our organization, Jovan Šurbatović said the following:

“First of all, I would like to emphasize that this model is to be applied in the case where the club withdraws from the competition due to any reason. The measure absolutely does not apply to clubs that have secured its promotion in the higher level of the competition with results on the field and it does not disrupt the existing competition system, but it prevents the “sale” of places in leagues, motivated by the personal interests of individuals “- says Surbatovic and adds:

“We have been witnessing for many years that there is a purchase and a sale of the status, and it is especially seen in the lower ranks of the competition. Clubs with a decades-long tradition have been closed, and new “instant” clubs have been established. We located a problem that threatened to escalate and decided to apply a system solution that is known in European practice. We did not invent anything new, but we only applied the “Spanish model” which is proved to be good”

Surbatovic emphasizes that the new measure was adopted in order to protect the integrity of Serbian football.

“The effects of this decision are multiple. First of all, in this way, we discourage the illegal trade with the competitive status of clubs. In the same time, we ensure that the healthy clubs that have the funds to finance the costs of the competition come to the vacant places (if there are any). And the most important point, the money will go to the legal flows, i.e., to funds for the development of football, and not to the grey zone and private pockets. ”

The essence is that this model prevents non-football transactions, and stimulates clubs that operate on a healthy basis to advance to a higher rank of the competition.

“That’s right. The time for the high professionalization of the Super and First League clubs of Serbia is coming. “The Licensing requirements are getting more difficult from year to year, and I sincerely hope that we are close to the privatization of professional football clubs according to the model of the voluntary ownership transformation, in which the Association is actively cooperating with clubs and The Union of the Super and First League of Serbia.”

Having in mind all of these points, it is clear that it is about the strategic decision for the purpose of healthier relations in Serbian football.

“It is very important to point out that this decision is in the interest of everyone: clubs, players, competent Associations.” We will have fewer withdrawals in leagues, fewer clubs that disappear from all of a sudden and more opportunities for the promotion for solvent clubs with real sources of funding. Likewise, the interest of the State is obvious, because the money from the grey zone will pass into the legal flows “- said clearly General Secretary of the Football Association of Serbia, Jovan Šurbatović.