A new chapter in amateur football in Montenegro

The Football Association of Montenegro (FSCG) has opened a new chapter and taken the first steps towards the development and future of football in the country by adopting a four-year grassroots strategy by organizing its first football festival for boys and girls aged 8 to 14.

The first weekend, held on October 12–13, was a great success as approximately 2,500 young players from 52 clubs gathered in four Montenegrin cities for events called “Djetić igra” (The Kids Play) and “Djetić zabava” (The Kids Fun). Fun and fun are the guiding principles of FSCG’s new grassroots initiative.

“We want to promote a different approach to training and understanding football in general,” explained Nikola Prentić, FSCG manager. “Until now, the main focus has been on results, even in this age group, and we believe this is not the right direction.

Balance between competition and fun

Saša Ivanović, a former Montenegrin top-flight goalkeeper who has been coaching the youngest age group at FK Arena Podgorica for the past 20 years, watched his young players show off their skills and passion for football on the mini pitch.

“I’m glad that a new story and a new direction has begun, because I know from experience that children of this age cannot show everything they know when they think about results and rankings,” Ivanovic said. “It’s good to have a competitive spirit, but the most important thing is that they develop a love of football, that they play freely and enjoy the game – dribbling and scoring goals, not just winning. This region is full of talent and I believe that this approach will help develop this talent better. The fruits of this work will be visible in the future.”

Luka Tiodorovic, a former Montenegrin U21 player who is responsible for implementing the project on behalf of FSCG, is excited about the new strategy and impressed by what he saw at the first festival.

“Beautiful scenes, so much joy and so many smiles in one place,” said Tiodorovic. “That’s what kids need – just enjoy football and dream. Everyone involved in this story from our National Association, clubs and coaches shares the same mission: to pave the way for children and ensure a bright future for them and our football.

Making football more accessible to everyone

The first goal of implementing the strategy is to make football even more popular and accessible to everyone.

“Football is already our most popular sport, but we believe we can increase the number of boys and girls who want to play,” Prentić added.

“That’s why an important part of our strategy is focused on high school football because we can expand our base with that population. We are a small country and we have to “fight” for every boy and girl. We will do everything in our power to ensure that every child and everyone who loves football has the chance to play this beautiful game. We hope to reach 20,000 participants by the end of the project, which will be an impressive number considering the size of our country.”

Prentić emphasized that amateur football is a broad term – encompassing street and recreational football, offering opportunities for veterans and, most importantly, people with disabilities.

“People with special needs and disabilities absolutely must have the same rights and opportunities to play football,” he explained. “We have already met with the president of the Montenegrin Paralympic Committee, Igor Tomić, who was delighted with our project, and we will try to cooperate with them during the first year of implementing the strategy.”

Varied support from UEFA

Montenegro has a population of 600,000 and FSCG wants to engage local and national partners to ensure the project can operate across the country. There are currently not enough suitable pitches to carry out everything planned, but UEFA is providing financial support and advice to help the project succeed, committing €1 million towards infrastructure, equipment and implementation over the next four years.

Prentić also stressed that special attention is being paid to girls’ football, which the FSGC continues to implement UEFA playmaker project – involving primary schools from all over Montenegro – as part of a bottom-up strategy. A mini-league was also created for girls aged six to nine, bringing together 13 clubs and about 130 players.

“Obviously there are girls in this age group who want to play football and we have made it possible for them to do so. They are fully equal in this project,” said Prentić, who, together with young players from all over the country, is looking into the bright future of Montenegrin football.