Football Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Football Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

UEFA
Founded	1920/1992
FIFA affiliation	1996
UEFA affiliation	1998
President	Ivica Osim

The Football Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnian: Nogometni/Fudbalski Savez Bosne i Hercegovine, N/FSBiH; is the chief officiating body of football in Bosnia and Herzegovina based in Sarajevo.

It operates the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team, the Bosnia and Herzegovina national under-21 football team, Bosnia and Herzegovina national under-19 football team, Bosnia and Herzegovina national under-17 football team, Bosnia and Herzegovina women's national football team amongst other footballing matters.

History

The Bosnian football association was founded as the Sarajevo football subassociation of former Yugoslavia in 1920. In 1992 the association was re-founded as the football federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Suspension Period

On April 1, 2011 UEFA and FIFA announced the suspension of the Football Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina with immediate effect.^[1][2] UEFA and FIFA decided to do so because the Federation didn't follow the new UEFA statut, namely the rule under which the federation must be led by a single president.^[3] They had three, one for each one of the constituent national ethnicities: Bosnian Serbs, Bosnian Croats and Bosniaks, as was the case with the Dayton Agreement. The suspension was lifted on 30 May 2011 after the new statute was unanimously approved by all three ethnic groups.^[4][5] Suspension lasted for 2 months.

In the past number of years, some Bosnian players were very vocal about their opposition to then leaders in the Bosnian FA, who were elected or appointed because of ethnic affiliation rather than professional qualifications. Fans were often either boycotting the games or displaying anti FA banners at the games. 13 Bosnian national team players (Misimović, Berberović, Grujić, Bartolović, Hrgović, Bajramović, Papac, Spahić, Milenković, Grlić, Bešlija, Hasagić, and Tolja) released a statement published in Dnevni Avaz daily, announcing they would boycott all national team matches until four FA officials – Milan Jelić, Iljo Dominković, Sulejman Čolaković, and Ahmet Pašalić – resigned.^[6] “We will no longer accept call-ups to the national team while these people are performing these functions, hoping that our gesture will mark the first step in the healing of this cancer in our soccer and a new beginning for the national team for which our hearts beat.” in the letter it was quoted. A new team had to be assembled to continue qualifications for Euro 2008. Former forwards Sergej Barbarez and Elvir Bolić were the most vocal against the corruption in the Bosnian FA appearing on numerous TV shows expressing their deep frustration about the situation in the Bosnian football over the years.

Now, NSBiH is run by a FIFA imposed normalisation committee with football great Ivica Osim at the head. ^[7] According to many football enthusiasts, this is a welcome change for the football in the country as many of the past officials were dismissed from their positions. One of those, a former NSBiH secretary general Munib Ušanović, has been successfully prosecuted over tax evasion and illegal misappropriation of the NFSBiH funds. Together with Miodrag Kureš, Munib Ušanović has been sentenced to five years in jail over tax fraud.^[8]

References

1. ^ "Bosnian-Herzegovinian FA suspended". UEFA. 1 April 2011. http://en.uefa.com/uefa/aboutuefa/news/newsid=1614180.html. Retrieved 2 April 2011. 
2. ^ "Football Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina suspended". FIFA. 1 April 2011. http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/federation/releases/newsid=1410136.html. Retrieved 2 April 2011. 
3. ^ "Bosnia suspended by Fifa". SKY Sports. 1 April 2011. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,19692_6845535,00.html. Retrieved 2 April 2011. 
4. ^ Fena (May 28, 2011). "UEFA ukinula suspenziju" (in Bosnian). Sarajevo-X. http://www.sarajevo-x.com/sport/nogomet/clanak/110528055. Retrieved 2011-05-28. 
5. ^ Sarajevo-X (May 30, 2011). "I FIFA ukinula suspenziju" (in Bosnian). Sarajevo-X. http://www.sarajevo-x.com/sport/nogomet/clanak/110530133. Retrieved 2011-05-30. 
6. ^ "Reprezentativci BiH neće igrati dok ne odu Jelić, Dominković, Čolaković i Pašalić" (in Bosnian). Sarajevo-X. 31 October 2006. http://www.sarajevo-x.com/sport/clanak/061031019. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
7. ^ "FIFA Names Ivica Osim Head of Bosnian Football :: Balkan Insight". http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/fifa-and-uefa-to-name-the-emergency-body-to-save-bosnia-s-football. Retrieved 18 April 2011. 
8. ^ "Bosnia soccer officials jailed for 5 years over tax". Reuters. 23 November 2009. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2009/11/23/bosnia-court-soccer-idUKGEE5AM1E020091123. Retrieved 23 November 2009. 

External links

• The Football Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bosnia and Herzegovina at FIFA site
• Bosnia and Herzegovina at UEFA site