Developing football in Montenegro

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Members

Montenegro only became a UEFA member in 2007 but there are already plenty of signs of promise.

Montenegro women’s team celebrate a goal in Malta Domenic Aquilina

Overview

The Football Association of Montenegro (FSCG) wants people to be happy to come to the nation’s stadiums; as a result, the association is striving to improve Montenegro’s footballing infrastructure and provide the best possible conditions for players and coaches, as well as spectators and media representatives.

Investing in youth development is also a key mission, with the first steps having been made towards the establishment of an FSCG academy through the launch of the ‘School of Football’ project: an initiative aimed at defining the conditions and facilities necessary for a successful youth programme.

A promotional campaign is also looking to bring girls from the under-12 age band into the game, with the FSCG seeing the benefits of targeting young players via social media as it steps up its mission to organise more competitions in primary schools. Positive results for the senior women’s national teams have also helped to create more interest in the game.

Montenegro is a relatively small nation, with most clubs owned by local municipalities, and with sponsorship hard to come by, finances continue to be an issue for local sides, but the FSCG is battling to encourage good practice and optimise performances.

"Football has always been an important part of life in Montenegro, and we are doing our best to improve the quality of our beautiful game for the future. Investing in infrastructure and taking care of youth development will be the focus of our activities, and we will do our utmost to fulfil our potential."

Dejan Savićević, FSCG president

UEFA support

UEFA's HatTrick programme, which channels EURO funds into football development across Europe, is helping to bring positive change at grassroots level in Montenegro, with the FSCG using UEFA funding to provide grass and artificial pitches to all municipalities, significantly improving playing conditions across the country.

In the past, HatTrick funding has also helped to upgrade the FSCG’s administrative buildings and make improvements to the national training centre, as well as supporting social projects like Football United the Alps, Adriatic and the Balkans and the Be My Friend initiative aimed at inclusion for disabled children.

UEFA Foundation for Children in Montenegro

Set up in 2015, the UEFA Foundation uses football as a vehicle to help improve children’s lives by supporting hundreds of campaigns and projects across Europe and around the world.

Learn&Play – Equal educational and sports opportunities for all children!

The Learn&Play project is helping 1,400 children, aged 6–12, who live in poverty in suburban and rural areas of Podgorica, by supporting their education and social inclusion through sport. The project consists of football training, literacy classes, and a final event, the Learn&Play Cup.

Timeline

Association history

1931 In Montenegro's one-time royal capital, Cetinje, the Cetinje Football Association is founded on 8 March, operating under the umbrella of the Yugoslav Football Association as one of ten football bodies supervising the game in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. By the outbreak of World War II, 105 clubs are registered in Montenegro, including FK Budućnost Podgorica and Cetinje’s FK Lovćen, founded in 1913 and one of the oldest teams in the Balkans.

1945 The end of World War II brings changes to the smallest republic in Yugoslavia, with the new Football Board of Montenegro founded on 5 August.

1946 Budućnost overcome Lovćen and Niksic-based Sutjeska to win the Montenegrin championship and earn the right to compete in the first post-war edition of the Yugoslavian First League. They are the most successful Montenegrin side of the Yugoslav era, reaching the 1965 and 1977 Yugoslavian Cup finals, losing out to Dinamo Zagreb (2-1) and Hajduk Split (2-0) respectively. Sujeska also played in the top tier for a time.

1948 On 6 December, the Football Board of Montenegro becomes the Football Federation of Montenegro (FSCG) and continues to operate under the wider authority of the Yugoslav association.

1991 Budućnost favourite Dejan Savićević wins the first of his two European Cups with Belgrade-based Crvena zvezda; he takes the title again with AC Milan in 1994.

1998 Another Montenegro and Budućnost great, Predrag Mijatović, scores the only goal in the 1998 UEFA Champions League final against Juventus to bring the top prize in European club football back to Real Madrid for the first time in 32 years.

2005 Following the break-up of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992, Montenegro becomes part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and then the union of Serbia and Montenegro; Golubovici-based Zeta are the most successful Montenegrin club of the era, qualifying for the second qualifying round of the 2005/06 UEFA Cup and then competing in the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup.

2006 Montenegro becomes independent following a referendum in June 2006, with 12 teams competing in the inaugural national league under the newly-autonomous FSCG in 2006/07; Zeta win the title, finishing three points clear of Budućnost.

2007 The FSCG is admitted to UEFA (26 January) and then FIFA (29 May). In the same year, Camp FSCG opens in the outskirts of Podgorica, a national team training base which is also home to the association’s offices, with facilities used by all of Montenegro’s men’s and women’s teams, as well as local sides from the capital.

Present day

National team history

2007 Montenegro make their senior international debut on 24 March with a 2-1 friendly success against Hungary, Mirko Vučinić and Igor Burzanović scoring for Zoran Filipović’s side.

2008 On 6 September, Montenegro draw 2-2 with Bulgaria in Podgorica in their first competitive game: a qualifier for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Their first win is a 2-1 success at home against Georgia on 10 October the following year.

2012 A squad featuring the likes of Mirko Vučinić and Stevan Jovetić reaches the play-offs for UEFA EURO 2012, but loses out to the Czech Republic over two legs. This is Montenegro’s biggest achievement so far; they finish third in their qualifying group for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and fourth in their group in the UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying competition.

Present day

President

Dejan Savićević

the Nationality: Montenegrin
Date of birth: 15 September 1966
Association president since: 2004

General secretary

Momir Djurdjevac

Nationality: Montenegrin
Date of birth: 5 April 1962
Association general secretary since: 2001

Football Association of Montenegro website

Developing football in Montenegro

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