Tournament crosses borders
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Article summary
Sides from three former Yugoslav republics competed in a recent anti-racism tournament.
Article body
Six Under-15 teams from three former Yugoslavian republics came together in Sarajevo for a tournament standing against nationalism and racism.
UEFA backing
Supported by the Balkan Alpe Adria Project (BAAP) and Football against Racism in Europe (FARE), the event was organised by the Football Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (NSBiH) with the backing of UEFA. Local clubs NK Željezničar and FK Borac Banjaluka and a side from the Novi Grad football school took on Croatia's HNK Rijeka and Serbian sides FK Smederevo and FK Rad, with the tournament opened by NSBiH general secretary Munib Ušanović and UEFA assistance programmes manager Patrick Gasser, who passed on a greeting from UEFA President Michel Platini.
Rad victorious
Belgrade-based team Rad emerged as the winners, with Saša Varga scoring the only goal of the final against Rijeka to take his tally to a tournament-best four. However, home pride was ensured by Novi Grad beating Smederevo 2-0 for bronze. Rad coach Goran Kovačević, who began his career at FK Sarajevo, said: "They were friendly matches and good games. My team won the tournament but all the players were winners."