Montenegro is one of nine countries, all of whose clubs from the highest national level of competition are members of the European Club Association - ECA.
ECA representatives addressed the Montenegrin public after two days of working meetings in Montenegro, yesterday for regional clubs in Tivat and today in Podgorica at a meeting hosted by Budućnost - all 10 first league players joined the Association.
Director of Communications and Marketing at ECA, Robert Fulkner, project manager Jeremy Coutinho and member of the board of directors of ECA and FC Karabagh Asif Agarov, did not hide their satisfaction with the meetings in Montenegro.
"All Montenegrin first league players are now part of a network of about 500 clubs, which is 100 percent. Our association has grown by 84 percent compared to the day it was founded in Nion in 2008. We presented the clubs with the advantages of membership in the only accredited association of clubs in UEFA, but also recognized by the World House of Football - FIFA. How much ECA is interested in the Western Balkans is confirmed by the fact that Agarov, a member of the board of directors, is here with us," explained Fulkner.
ECA started as an association of 140 clubs.
"Montenegro clubs share the same problems as others in countries the size of Montenegro, but we are here to help them in the exchange of knowledge, experiences, resolving disputes in transfers with other clubs or abroad, representation at Uefa, but we also explained to them the help lines and how apply to the Fifa solidarity fund. ECA takes care of the clubs, and Montenegro is important to us, the interest of the clubs is also important to us, and we offer help in education, promotion, and professionalization in the clubs," Cotinjo emphasized.
ECA presented Montenegrin members with two lines of progress and help for clubs, ways to apply. of course with thanks to Bubućnost for the hospitality.
"Since September this year, a new fund has been launched, and we explained the distribution of money from the Federation to the clubs, which was of great interest to the participants of the meeting. The budget will be increased from 3,7 to 4,4 billion, and the clubs that do not win European Cups, like the majority of Montenegrins, now they will be able to count on seven percent compared to the previous four percent from the budget in the solidarity fund and help clubs to survive, develop and professionalize their business - concluded Coutinho.
Only ECA supports the European model of sports, where the best are chosen for the chance to go to Europe through international competitions.
"We are aware of the gap that is created between the richest and other leagues and we are trying to reduce it so that everyone gets a chance, so in addition to the budget for the nagardas, the number of clubs in the European Cups has also increased from 98 to 108. Thus, in mutual competitions in Europe, clubs will not not only to increase the quality, but also to make money, and we invest in the progress and importance of women's competitions, the League of Champions for female soccer players - Fulkner is decisive.
AGAROV: Karabagh is an example, Vešović and Janković delight
It is Karabagh from Azerbaijan that is an example of the success and rise of the club through the money earned from participation in European Cups.
"The league in Azerbaijan is similar to the Montenegrin league in conditions and quality, but we have been participating in the group stages of European competitions for 10 years in a row. The most important move was to bring in a top coach and give him a multi-year trust, as well as technical progress. Of course, we also worked on marketing, especially with youth academies. The money earned by participating in the group stage of the Champions League in 2017 enabled us to complete the project. An important part of it is also the two Montenegrin national team members, Marko Vešović and Marko Janković, who deserve only great respect from us in every respect and gratitude", concluded the board member of ECA and Karabagh, Agarov.
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