The first match of the senior football team of Montenegro at the Sutjeska stadium in Nikšić was not the last that our A team played near Bistrica, on the contrary.
After the match against Wales, when the newly renovated stadium in Nikšić (the newly built western stand was opened, although not equipped, only 15 days earlier) "came to the rescue" due to the destroyed turf of the stadium in Podgorica, there is talk of good organization and great energy with tribune, which could not be extinguished even by the rain that involuntarily watered the city of beer and steel that September 9.
In short, Nikšić passed the test, the general secretary of the Football Association of Montenegro told "Vijesti". Momir Đurđevac. Two days after the match, he summarized the organizational aspects of the match, which - due to the short period of time, but also the fact that Montenegro had not yet played at the Sutjeska stadium, there was no way to organize it.
How satisfied are you with the organization of the match that was played for the first time in another city outside of Podgorica when it comes to the senior national team?
- The organization of the match went well, especially when you take into account the fact that it was organized for the first time outside of Podgorica. There were challenges, especially in the preparation, but together with all involved parties, we did everything to make the game go smoothly. Thanks to the regular meetings, the daily communication of all involved, the coordination of activities by the services of the Association and the hard work of all engaged services and individuals, we managed to organize the match in Nikšić without any difficulties. The organization of the match itself went without any problems, no failures were noted by UEFA officials and we can say that Nikšić, the City Stadium and all entities involved in the organization passed this test.
The problem in Podgorica was the pitch, did the pitch in Nikšić "pass the test", considering the amount of rain that fell?
- Absolutely! The pitch in Nikšić met the needs of the match and was in excellent condition throughout the 90 minutes. The quality of the field in Nikšić was not questionable, as the UEFA field maintenance expert also noted. With respect to all the recommendations given by the same expert, the field was prepared to receive the national teams of Montenegro and Wales in optimal condition. Thanks to the quality of the surface and the observance of all recommendations related to maintenance and preparation, even the huge amount of precipitation that fell in Nikšić during Monday did not affect the quality of the field. All the spectators in the stadium, as well as those who watched the match via television broadcast, could see for themselves.
How satisfied are you with the support from the stands and the fan atmosphere at the stadium?
- I will use this opportunity to thank all the spectators who watched the match live at the City Stadium in Nikšić. A special thanks goes to the fans and spectators who were located in the eastern stand and who, despite the constant rain, provided enormous support to our team. I must also point out the incredible interest in the game, especially in Nikšće, where more tickets were demanded. The capacity of the stadium itself, which amounts to just over 5.500 seats, was the biggest problem for the Football Association because in the days before the game we received an incredible number of requests to buy tickets. Unfortunately, we were not in a position to respond positively to all requests, but we are happy about the way the spectators in Nikšić cheered our team and are proud of the atmosphere that prevailed at the City Stadium.
Is there a chance that Nikšić will host a match of the A national team in the future, regardless of the condition of the field in Podgorica?
- Nikšić and the City Stadium passed the test in the duel with Wales and showed that they can be good hosts for matches of the senior national team of Montenegro. Regardless of the condition of the stadium in Podgorica, I am sure that in the future Nikšić will host individual matches of the senior national team in the League of Nations or qualifiers for the World and European Championships - said Momir Đurđevac.
Montenegro will visit Turkey in October, then Wales, while in November they will play two matches at home, against Iceland and Turkey.
In two weeks, we resolved all open issues
What else does the stadium in Nikšić need to have in order to reduce the headaches surrounding the organization of a match in a category such as Montenegro - Wales?
- A lot of work was done during the last two weeks in order to adapt the stadium in Nikšić to the needs of playing matches of the senior national team. Great support in arranging the stadium and its surroundings was provided by the Municipality of Nikšić through its local services, as well as FC Sutjeska and their staff. All together, each within the scope of their competences and capabilities, we made the maximum effort in order to eliminate in a short time all the deficiencies recorded during the UEFA inspections. We succeeded in that, solved almost all open issues and in the future there will be significantly less work on preparing the stadium for playing international matches.
Bonus video:
