UEFA PRESIDENT ALEKSANDER ČEFERIN VISITING FSS | HOSPITALITY OF SERBIAN FA AND SERBIAN PEOPLE ALWAYS AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin arrived for another visit to the Football Association of Serbia and immediately used the opportunity to emphasize how important it is for the entire region that the next meeting of the highest body of the European Football Union will be held in Belgrade.

“I always feel good in your city, and I am very much looking forward to the next UEFA Congress in the capital of Serbia. As I like to say, in our area” –told the FSS website the UEFA president that was welcomed at the Crown Plaza Hotel by a delegation of our Association led by president Dragan Džajić, vice-president Branislav Nedimović and general secretary Jovan Šurbatović.

“The hospitality of the Serbian FA and the Serbian people has never been questioned. I am already certain that the organization of the Congress will be at the highest possible level. Every time I come to Belgrade, I make sure that the capacities are getting bigger and bigger. It is very important for the delegates that the hotel is connected to the center where the Congress will be held, and this greatly facilitates the entire process of logistics and organization of the event.”

During this visit, Čeferin will attend the ceremony for the announcement of the new ambassador of the Youth Sports Games. The famous German football player Karl-Heinz Rummenigge will join the large family of YSG ambassadors, which includes, among others, the first man of European football, as well as the president of Paris Saint-Germain, Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

Belgrade can already be said to be a regional football metropolis.

“One of the metropolises for sure” – Čeferin agrees, but also adds – “The infrastructure is still not at the level it should be, but it looks quite promising.” For now, smaller stadiums are being built, I have information that the construction of the National Stadium will begin soon, and in that case the odds for Belgrade to host new major events shall increase.”

Perhaps some Europa League or Conference League finals?

“I absolutely agree, if all conditions are met.” Belgrade is a big city, it has a modern airport, many exclusive hotels, all possible facilities, and that final step is still missing. That is, a stadium with sufficient capacity to host the actors of the final act of a major competition.”

It felt good when Čeferin during his speech in Paris apostrophized Serbian football and the success that Crvena Zvezda achieved in 1991:

“All of us in these areas are much better than we think we are.” We have some advantages that others do not have. We need to get closer, to function together. That’s the only way we can move forward. Football brings people together. On the other hand, any boycott has only negative consequences. That’s why I mentioned that Yugoslavia never felt more European than when Crvena Zvezda won the game with Marseille in Bari. And unfortunately, never more isolated than when they prevented us from participating in the European Championship in 1992.”

At the ceremony in the Sava Center, in addition to the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, there were large number of dignitaries from the political, economic and sports life of Serbia, numerous celebrities who wrote the history of European football and who Čeferin was probably referring to when he said in Paris that football is a passion and more than a game.

“Absolutely.” Football is so strong precisely because everyone can dream of playing in the strongest competition. Basketball, as well as many other sports, had been taken that away, but we will not allow that in football. I once listened to a wise man on TV, he was asked what the most popular sport in the world is, he answered – basketball. When they reminded him about football, he said football is not a sport, football is a religion.”

With all that in mind, clearly one of the most attractive and exciting European championships of all time awaits us in Germany.

“In any case, we are working to make everything at the top level.” Yesterday I was in Berlin discussing the details of the European Championship. The Germans have excellent infrastructure and more importantly, they are proven to be great organizers of major sporting events. I am sure that the tournament will meet expectations in all aspects. In Slovenia, there is an unprecedented interest of the fans, the tickets sold out, and I believe that the situation is similar in Serbia.”

There is no doubt that the UEFA president has already exchanged ‘threats’ with his friends from the Football Association of Serbia before the match between Slovenia and Serbia in Munich.

“We touched a little on that game, not a lot. As the European Championship approaches, there will be more talk about it. The system is such that some third-placed teams go to the knockout phase of the tournament. It will be exciting,” said Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA president.