Serbia welcomed to UEFA
Wednesday 12 July 2006
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Serbia have been admitted as full UEFA members (©Getty Images)
Football Association of Serbia general secretary Miroljub Rajić has described UEFA's decision to admit Serbia as a full member as a "historic date for Serbian football". UEFA's Executive Committee confirmed today that the Football Association of Serbia is the legal successor of the Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro following a meeting in Berlin.
'Proud and delighted'
"It's a historic date for Serbian football," Rajić said. "From today we are new participants in the European football family and we are really proud and delighted. We have ended our football relationship with Montenegro on the highest human and sporting terms and now, as an independent country, we will try to represent ourselves in the best way. Football in Serbia has a great history, it's our main sport and we believe it will have a successful future."
Dissolved
The new body replaces the Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro which was dissolved at the end of last month. The Football Association of Montenegro is a candidate for FIFA and UEFA membership. The FA of Serbia, with Zvezdan Terzić as president, will participate in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008™ and in all other UEFA national-team competitions without any involvement of Montenegrin players.
Independence
Serbia's first game will be a friendly against the Czech Republic in Prague on 16 August before they play their first EURO qualifier against Azerbaijan in Belgrade on 2 September. A majority of Montenegrins voted for independence from Serbia in a referendum on 21 May and the football administrators are following the political will of their respective nations.
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