The Football Association of Montenegro announced that it was disappointed, but not surprised, by the release of information to the media and the entire Montenegrin public about the alleged failures of the FSCG, which were presented yesterday at the press conference dedicated to the presentation of the candidate for the president of the Association of FSCG Clubs - "Centar" Dragan Vujović.
As FSCG states in its response, information was released at the conference that in previous years FSCG missed the opportunity to apply to FIFA and UEFA for infrastructure programs, as a result of which 50 million euros were lost.
"The elementary question that arises is where were Mr. Vujović and his colleagues all these years if they knew that the FSCG was missing opportunities to apply for funds intended for the development of football infrastructure and thereby losing huge amounts of money? Why didn't they point out these omissions when they think of Montenegrin football as well they only want the best? If they know now and from this perspective, we invite them to tell us how to get those huge funds and to use them, for example, to build the long-desired national stadium," says FSCG.
We transmit the reaction of the FSCG integrally...
"On the occasion of yesterday's media conference dedicated to the presentation of the candidate for the president of the Association of Clubs FSCG - Center Dragan Vujović and the information presented at the same, the Football Association of Montenegro has the obligation to respond and at the same time to deny them.
The Football Association of Montenegro is disappointed, but not surprised, by the release of information to the media and the entire Montenegrin public about the alleged failures of the FSCG to apply to FIFA and UEFA for infrastructure programs during the previous years, as a result of which 50 million euros were lost!? We are not surprised because during the previous period a large amount of information was presented that does not correspond to the truth, and we are disappointed because serious people were talking about the 'missing 50 million euros', whose age does not allow them to market unverified information as claims.
Before presenting such information, yesterday's speakers had to familiarize themselves a little better, even if only superficially, with the way FIFA and UEFA function, that is, with the modalities of their cooperation with the national associations regarding the development of football. Moreover, if they had been informed about the development programs initiated by FIFA and UEFA, they would have known that there are FIFA Forward and UEFA HatTrick programs which, among other things, define the forms of assistance to national associations in the field of football infrastructure development. Through further research, yesterday's speakers were able to obtain the information that, through the mentioned two programs, all national associations were allocated the same financial resources at the four-year level, in the total amount of 28 million euros for the period from 2007, when FSCG became a member of international football organizations, and that in order to use these funds, it is necessary to submit individual applications for all segments for which the money is allocated.
At the end of the research, yesterday's speakers were able to obtain information that the Football Association of Montenegro has been using the funds provided through FIFA Forward and UEFA HatTrick since 2007, and that thanks to these programs, 22 fields with artificial surfaces were built in almost all cities of our country, placed irrigation systems on natural and artificial pitches, reconstructed floodlighting at the Municipal Stadium in Podgorica, installed floodlights in Petrovac and Nikšić, built dressing rooms on some pitches, built the FSCG Training Camp, provided rooms for the Federation on the south stand of the Municipal Stadium... All these projects have been implemented are thanks to the timely submission of applications for the development of football infrastructure by FIFA and UEFA, and it is clear that FSCG did not miss the opportunity to apply to international football organizations for funds intended for the development of infrastructure.
Building on the projects realized thanks to the funds provided through the FIFA Forward and UEFA HatTrick programs, the Football Association in all previous years invested its own funds in the development of infrastructure, namely for the installation of floodlighting in 11 stadiums in Montenegro, the reconstruction of the City Stadium in Podgorica, the City Stadium in Nikšić, the City Stadium in Berane, the stadium in Tuzi, the stadium in Pljevlji, the construction of the stadium in Cetinje, the stadium in Donja Gorica, the tribune in Nikšić... Taking into account all the realized and a few started projects, we arrive at the sum mentioned by yesterday's speakers - the amount invested in improvement of football infrastructure, including own funds and funds from the FIFA Forward and UEFA HatTrick programs, amount to just over 52 million euros.
How much attention was paid to the funds provided by international football organizations is best expressed by the words of Jozef Kliment, UEFA HatTrick program manager, at the FSCG Assembly held in 2022, when he said: 'FSCG is still a young association because it was accepted into UEFA in 2007. , so he is still in puberty, so to speak. Montenegro is a small country with limited resources, but FSCG is a good example of how financial resources are used efficiently. You use the funds from the UEFA HatTrick program wisely without spending a single euro unnecessarily. Your basic priorities are recognizable - infrastructure and construction of fields throughout the country and youth development through the realization of a football academy.
A year earlier, also at the FSCG Assembly, the director of the UEFA Department for National Associations, Zoran Laković, briefly reflected on the Association's operations and said: 'I have repeated several times so far that the FSCG represents a unique model of responsible behavior towards football. If business is conducted in a homely and transparent manner, as is the case here at FSCG, if one works persistently and diligently, then results and the constant development of football are guaranteed. And that's why I want to highlight FSCG again, as one of the rare associations in Europe, which directs most of its profits to the construction of football infrastructure throughout Montenegro'.
The words of the representatives of UEFA at the Assemblies held in Podgorica are not eulogies at the expense of the Football Association, nor a polite address for the sake of addressing itself. FIFA and UEFA are not institutions that allocate money out of sympathy for anyone, but do so solely on the basis of submitted projects within the framework defined by the four-year development programs. That is why we understand the words of the representative of the European Football Association as a confirmation of timely and correct cooperation regarding the development of football infrastructure.
We use the opportunity to look back on the warning to the Association that it does not apply to government tenders for the allocation of financial resources, which causes financial damage to clubs in Montenegro. The government, that is, the Ministry of Sports, allocates funds for the functioning of national associations and the costs of representative selections, and the same are not intended for clubs, so the clubs suffer absolutely no financial damage. The football association has no problem providing funds to finance the activities of representative selections, which is not the case with other national associations, which, due to fairness and solidarity with all athletes in our country, we have taken great care of all these years.
On the other hand, the 'financial damage' caused by the Federation to the clubs is best reflected in the record amount of financial assistance, the realization of the TV rights contract for the 1st CFL and the distribution of the entire income to the clubs, as well as the distribution of financial resources generated from the contract with the company Meridianbet on the sponsorship of the First of the league of Montenegro. The total amount of money that is distributed in this way only to First League clubs is 1.415 million euros, while at the season level for clubs of all categories (First League, Second League, senior clubs from all three Associations, members of the Futsal League, leagues, women's football clubs ) The Football Association of Montenegro allocates 2.5 million euros.
And finally, without going into whether he has a work program for the position he is running for, whether he has a development vision, plans and projects for improving infrastructure, improving work with younger categories, a clear position regarding young or foreign players in domestic competitions, whether FSCG is legitimate or not, the elementary question that arises at the end of this story is where were Mr. Vujović and his colleagues all these years if they knew that the Football Association of Montenegro was missing opportunities to apply for funds intended for the development of football infrastructure and thereby losing huge money? Why didn't they point out those omissions when they think and want only the best for Montenegrin football? If they know now and from this perspective, we invite them to tell us how to get those huge funds and for them, for example, to build the long-desired national stadium?
Yesterday's speakers know the answers to these questions very well," FSCG wrote in its response.
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