As a part of the UEFA Grassroots Week, an event was held in the FF BH Training Centre in Zenica today, attended by more than 900 girls and boys from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Grassroots program includes football for all, regardless of sex, race, religion and nationality, as emphasized by the FF BH General Secretary, Mr. Jasmin Baković:

“It's really nice to see almost 1000 girls and boys gathered in one place, marking the Grassroots days. This is an event that we organize every year with the full support of UEFA, owing them a great gratitude. This is also an opportunity to send a message of peace, friendship and communion; to show that football is a big magnet that gathers children and people, regardless of all the differences that exist between them. Also, this is an opportunity to say NO to discrimination, NO to any form of behaviour that has nothing to do with sports; to say YES to everything that makes this sport noble and beautiful, to everything that stands in the word respect and fair-play.”

A long-time coordinator for the youth football development in FF BH, Mr. Murat Jaha stated:

“Every year, UEFA organizes the Grassroots Week, and this is the final event where, besides the large number of children, there are also more than one hundred coaches and volunteers, as well as the school leaders, who are present here. I would like to thank all the schools and clubs that came to Zenica today with their youngest attendees and so magnified this event.”

The goalkeeper coach of the BH “U-19” team and a leader of the ŠF Don Bosko from Žepče, Goran Brašnić, conveys positive impressions from today's event:

“A beautiful picture is coming from Zenica today. There are children from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in this way we send a message that we are all together, that we live together and that we have to continue in this way. We have here a goalkeeping workshop too, where I, as a goalkeeper coach and my colleagues, show the children some basic techniques, but all this through fun and games.”

An eight-year-old kid, Isak from the ŠF Banbinios says with a smile: “It's great here, we hang out together and play football, and we like it the most.” This boy also had a message for BH national team players: “We will beat Belgium!”

At today's event participated the attendees from the following football schools: Bambinosi Sarajevo, Bambi Tuzla, OFK Bihać, BSK Banja Luka, FA Josip Katalinski-Škija Sarajevo, FK Glasinac Sokolac, ŠF Piksi Pale, NK Fojnica, Don Bosko Žepče, FK Čelik Zenica, ŠF Omladinac Banja Luka, UG Respect Sarajevo, FA Goražde, NK Hajduk Orašje, NK Kosova, OFK Zenit Bijeljina.

Among the others, with the children was the head coach of the BH “U-15” team, Zoran Erbez, as well as the coaches of our youth squads: Ahmet Kečalović, Denis Malešević, Amir Japaur, Goran Brašnić and Siniša Mrkobrada, as well as U-17 women’s team players, preparing in the Training Centre for the qualifications tournament for the European Women’s U-17 Championship.