The president of the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vico Zeljković, at today’s press conference summarized the year at the end and announced major infrastructure projects.
The most interesting among them is the project construction of the national stadiumwhich, according to him, will be built in Zenica.
We want to build a hotel for the needs of the BiH national team on the building of the NS BiH, if we get permission from the Municipality of Novi Grad. Also, we would enter into cooperation with the center of Otok, arrange the stadium of Otok and turn it into a center for women’s football. However, our goal is to build a national stadium. We were trying to find a partner because we can’t do it alone. Our wish was Sarajevo, but we did not encounter understanding and support. Therefore, we are going to implement the construction of the national stadium in Zenica, said Zeljkovic.
According to him, the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina plans to sign a contract with the City of Zenica by the end of January, while the preparation of the conceptual project should start in February or March. The National Stadium will have capacity of 17-18 thousand seats, and it will be built in phases, stand by stand, through three to four investment cycles.
The stadium would also be home to the Čelik club because it is their home. Our goal is for the stadium to be completed by 2029, added Zeljkovic.
He also referred to the previous efforts related to the location in Sarajevo and explained why the national stadium project was not realized there.
The first idea was to build a stadium at the location of Koševo. We started the procedures and sent a letter of intent to the Municipality of Centar, but everything stopped. The project is politicized, which I consider completely unnecessary. Zenica is our city, only forty minutes away from Sarajevo by highway, and it is ready for such a project. We can hope for Sarajevo and wait for years to come, but we don’t have that luxury, pointed out is Zeljković.
Speaking about the conditions at the stadiums of the Wwin League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, he emphasized that most of them does not meet UEFA standards.
We are satisfied with the progress in the infrastructure in recent years, especially with the construction of new lawns, but the condition of the stadiums, apart from the lawns, is still bad. The viewership of the league has increased, but attendance at the stadium is still low, which is understandable given the conditions, concluded Zeljković.
(www.jabuka.tv | Photo: NS BiH)
