A press conference was held on Thursday (February 1) in the City Hall, where the project of the organization of the European Minifootball Championship (EMF Euro 2024 Sarajevo) was officially presented for the first time, which will be played from June 1 to 9 this year in the “Mirza Delibašić” hall in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
24 national teams will participate in the championship and the leaders of the European Minifootball Federation (EMF), the Minifootball Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced today a spectacular sports event and invited all citizens to enjoy minifootball on a green surface in June and support this project. The first two men of the “Mininogomet” Association and the Mininogomet Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, brothers Elvin and Ervin Blažević, are most responsible for the fact that Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina won the organization of this tournament in competition with Azerbaijan, Italy, Turkey and Romania.
The first man of the Minifootball Association of BiH, Elvin Blažević, greeted the attendees and thanked the Deputy Mayor of the City of Sarajevo, Samir Avdić, for his support and reception in the Town Hall. “We got the organization of the European minifootball championship. This is a big event in June and we got the organization in competition with England, Azerbaijan, Austria. We are proud of it and it is up to us to organize it at the highest level”, said Blažević.
He said that the best selections and numerous football stars, such as Italy and Francesco Totti and Slovakia with Miroslav Stoch are coming to the competition in Sarajevo in June. He added that the BiH selection is seriously preparing for this competition and that in April they will perform in Podgorica as part of the preparations and compete against European
champions Azerbaijan and world champions Romania.
EMF president Borislav Aleksandrov pointed out that Sarajevo deserves such a sporting event and that the EMF sees it not only as a city, but also as a symbol of unity and hospitality. “Minifootball is not only a game, it is also a social phenomenon. We recognize that the goals and values of EMF should be fulfilled in Sarajevo, including the promotion of sports, inclusion. We assure you that EMF will do everything to help you organize a spectacular
event”, said Aleksandrov.
His deputy, Peter Kralik, said that minifootball is growing in population and that last year’s European Championship in Slovakia was watched by 20 million people on television, and another 45 million on the Internet. “We expect it to be even better in Sarajevo than in Košice. It is important that the organization has the support of the City of Sarajevo and the Ministry of Sports and Culture of Sarajevo Canton. I personally know how difficult and challenging it is to organize a sports event like this”, said Kralik.
The ambassador of the EMF EURO 2024 and celebrated former football player and coach Mehmed Baždarević pointed out that it is an honor for him to support such a sports event just as the 40th anniversary of the Olympic Games is being celebrated in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. “I greet and thank these wonderful people for what will happen in Sarajevo. At this moment, we are not even aware of how important it is,” said Baždarević and called on all BiH citizens to support this project and come to the matches.
The coach of the BiH minifootball national team Samir Mekić and representative Harun Handanović also greeted the attendees and announced that they will do everything to represent BiH with dignity at the tournament in June. “My task is to prepare the team as well as possible, to choose the best players so that they can present themselves with dignity at this European Championship,” said Mekić.