The session began with a minute of silence in honour of the BH FF honorary president Ivica Osim and all members of the football organization who have passed away in the past year.

The BH FF president, Vico Zeljković, greeted those present, and thanked the representatives of FIFA and UEFA for their support in the activities of the Federation, and pointed out that we are all working together for the development and prosperity of football. Among other things, Zeljković said:

“What I want to emphasize is that I am proud of the fact that representatives of all structures of the BH FF breathe as one and that all constructive ideas in the interest of football in Bosnia and Herzegovina are unanimously adopted and implemented to the pride of all of us who participate in these activities. The guiding idea and our mission are to create the best possible environment for the development of all aspects of the football game, and to promote it so that every citizen can enjoy the charms that football offers. The values that we inherit on the path of development and prosperity are unity, pride, equality, inclusion, and our guiding idea was in the previous year, through cooperation with UEFA experts, shaped into the BH FF Development Strategy for the period 2022-2026. What we promised last year at the regular Assembly, we fulfilled, and in the three words that are also the name of this strategic document, everything that actually represents our mission, vision and values. Those words are TOGETHER FOR TOMORROW.”

President Zeljković also added:

“Together for Tomorrow is a kind of guide, a path that the Federation will bravely tread in the coming period. The BH FF as an organization for the first time has a clearly defined future course of action, which, with UEFA as a strategic partner, has fully positioned our Federation as one of the key components on the European football map. Once again, I would like to thank all the collaborators, both internal and external, who devotedly worked on the Strategy, and it is up to us to make maximum use of all available time, effort, and resources, in order to turn all dreams into reality, and through the best European and world practices to create a better the future for the development of football. This year, we are also starting to create a strategy for the development of women’s football, which will certainly contribute to a better organization, and thus to the development of this segment of football in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Vico Zeljković also referred to infrastructure projects:

“Improving the infrastructure at football stadiums in Bosnia and Herzegovina was a special challenge, especially since there were objective circumstances that made this big project even more difficult. What was unimaginable, with the full support of UEFA and FIFA, is slowly becoming a reality. And as we promised at the previous Assembly, we are witnessing the biggest infrastructural progress that the BH FF has achieved in its decades-long history, and it concerns direct investment in clubs and club infrastructure throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. The stadiums of FK Velež, FK Sarajevo, FK Sloboda, FK Tuzla City and FK Borac enable football events to be played at an extremely high level, and conditions have been created for the quality work of all club teams and the development of “grassroots” basic programs.”

The leader of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Federation also spoke about education and national teams:

“I must point out that through the harmonization of the education centre program with UEFA and the introduction of new education programs in the previous year, we educated the first generation of almost 150 coaches with a UEFA C license, trained to work with the youngest categories. The first generation of coaches was also trained through the UEFA A elite youth program, which will further improve the work in the elite youth teams, and which will ultimately raise the quality of football players for all national teams.

Thirteen national teams of all ages defended the colours of B&H throughout Europe and the world, and took an active part in both qualifying and friendly matches. The women’s “A” national team qualified for the play-offs for the Women’s Football World Cup, which is being held in Australia and New Zealand, but unfortunately missed that last step. In the previous year, the men’s BH “A” national team, to everyone’s satisfaction, achieved a qualification for the elite A group of the UEFA Nations League, and through this competition and the first place, it secured a play-off for the UEFA European Championship in Germany in 2024, which, I hope, will not be necessary.”

Zeljković also adds:

“What we announced last year that B&H would host a competition under the auspices of UEFA for the first time in its history has also become a reality. The UEFA European Women’s U-17 Championship was successfully organized and we received the highest praise from UEFA for the organization and commitment, and the said competition was the most attended so far. We expressed our determination that this should not be just an “ad hoc” situation by sending an application for the organization of the UEFA European Championship for Men or Women U-19, which, if we get the organization, would be held in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2026.”

The session was attended by Lorenzo Cavallari, a member of the FIFA National Teams Department, and Jozef Kliment, UEFA advisor for national associations, who pointed out that the world and European umbrella house of football supports the work of the Federation and will continue to invest in the development of football in Bosnia and Herzegovina through various projects. They also congratulated President Vico Zeljković and members of the BH FF Executive Board for the implementation of various infrastructure projects in the previous year, and for the successful organization of the European Championship for female cadets. Tarik Trbić, general secretary of the Union of Professional Footballers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was also a guest at the session.

After the election of the working bodies, the Election Commission noted that 58 delegates attended the session, so the Assembly had the necessary quorum for work and decision-making.

After the presented presentations, the Assembly delegates adopted:

• Decision on Amendments to the BH FF Statute;
• Decision on Termination of Work of the BH FF Advisory and Mediation Committee and the termination of the title of honorary president.
• BH FF Activity Report for 2022;
• Report on Execution of the BH FF Revenue and Expenditure Plan for 2022;
• BH FF Audit Report for 2022;
• BH FF Activity Plan for 2023;
• BH FF Revenue and Expenditure plan for 2023.

As part of the amendments to the BH FF Statute, among other things, a decision was adopted to abolish the provision from Article 17, which regulated the issue of the establishment, jurisdiction, and work of the BH FF Advisory and Mediation Committee, as well as the role of the BH FF honorary president. Since the General Assembly adopted a decision on amendments to the Statute, which, among other things, decided that there was no longer a need for the existence of the BH FF Advisory and Mediation Committee and the activities of the honorary president, all further rights and obligations on that basis cease.

After the adopted decisions, according to the agenda of today’s session, the Assembly successfully concluded its work.