The
Football Association of Republika Srpska
(
Serbian
:
Фудбалски савез Републике Српске, ФСРС
/
Fudbalski savez Republike Srpske
,
FSRS
) is the official
football
association of the
Republika Srpska
entity of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
It organizes the
national cup
, the
domestic league
which forms one of the two second-tier divisions below the
national top division
. The FSRS also has a
national team
that represents Republika Srpska in only
friendly matches
. The association was founded in 1992 and supervises over 300 football clubs throughout Republika Srpska, that includes a staff of 600 coaches, and a referee association with 1,200 members.
The association also has a youth system, with financial support to youth teams and building new football schools. Its structure is identical with other national football associations, but currently acts as a subdivision within
Bosnia and Herzegovina's FA
.
History
[
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]
It was formed on September 5, 1992 by the
government of Republika Srpska
, one of the two political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main goal of the FSRS was to be recognized internationally as an independent association, with their clubs being able to compete in the
First League of FR Yugoslavia
. After the failure to join the newly formed Yugoslav League (consisting of clubs from
Serbia
and
Montenegro
), the association continued to boycott Bosnia's League and planned that it would be able to compete in international competitions as an independent association in the future. A separate league system, the
First League of the Republika Srpska
, was established in 1995, where all Republika Srpska-based first level clubs competed.
The Republic of Srpska national team played their first official match at the City Stadium in Banja Luka on December 20, 1992, when the rival to the Srpska team was the national team of the Republic of Srpska Krajina. This match ended without the winner, with 1:1.The Republic of Srpska scored the first goal in the 16th minute thanks to Ne?kovi? and the final 1:1 were scored in the 45th minute by ?ori?. Tihomir ?ori?, then playing for Dinara from Knin, was chosen the best player of this friendly match. This historical match of the Srpska team drew a lot of attention, and in spite of the ongoing war, there were about 2,000 spectators at the FC Borac stadium.
REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA - REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA KRAJINA 1:1 (1:1)
Scorers: 1:0 Ne?kovi? (16), 1:1 ?ori? (45).
Stadium: City Stadium in Banja Luka, attendance: 2.000, referees: Ilija Gigovi? (Gradi?ka), Slobodan Micev and Ranko Dragi?evi? from Banja Luka.
THE BEST PLAYER: Tihomir ?ori? (Republika Srpska Krajina).
REPUBLIC SRPSKA: ?obanovi?, Malba?i?, Miladinovi?, Luki?,
Sredojevi?
, Janjetovi?, Tonkovi?, Ne?kovi?,
Jagodi?
, Zdjelar and
Trivan
.
Reserves: Markovi?, Gra?anin, Vranje?, Ali?i?, Vojki?, ?obot, Salami?, Luki?, Kukavica, Paji?, Mari?, ?arac and Gluhovi?.
REPUBLIC SRPSKA KRAJINA: Lj. Vu?kovi?, M. Vu?kovi?, Bogunovi?, Vukasin,
Tica
, Vrcelj, ?arkovi?, Bo?i?, Pribi?evi?, Njegi?, ?ori?.
Reserves: Nedini?, Bjelivuk, Tati?, Bo?i?,
Dragi?i?
, ?orgi?, Boti?,
Cugalj
.
After the conflict in Bosnia ended, the Bosnian league was split into three ethnically-based sections. The
Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina
, NSBiH, created to represent all three organisations, was recognised by the world football governing body FIFA in 1996 and UEFA in 1998. As the
Bosniak
football federation was the only one to join, its clubs alone were allowed to compete internationally and contest the newly formed
Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
The Bosnian Croat association, Herceg-Bosna Football Federation, joined up with the NSBiH to form the Football Association of The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in April 2000 but the RS league continued to press for separate international recognition. On May 23, 2002 the FSRS finally joined the NSBiH as well, resulting in a league with teams from the entire country. The previous RS First League became a second level competition. The former RS Football federation vice president
Slobodan Te?i?
said that "Its in the interest of us all, including our teams," stressing that the Bosnian Serbs teams had suffered the most during the years of division due to limited competition. In a joint statement, UEFA and FIFA hailed the move as being "for the good of football in Bosnia-Herzegovina and, in particular, for the development of football in Republika Srpska".
First League Champions
[
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]
The association had its own Championship since 1995. The
First League of the Republika Srpska
which is the top tier is played in a league system where clubs meet all other in two rounds twice, once as host another as visitor being at the end the club with the major number of points proclaimed the Champion of Republika Srpska. After 2002 the top clubs of the First league are promoted to the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Currently, the First League of RS and the
First League of FBiH
form the second national tier of Bosnia and Herzegovina league system. For more information on the current format look into Bosnia's
Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina
. Below are the results from the seven seasons before the merge. Note none of these champions were recognized by FIFA or UEFA and could not participate in any European club competitions.
Players
[
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]
Name
|
Surname
|
Club
|
Vladan
|
Kova?evi?
|
Rakow
|
Miladin
|
Stevanovi?
|
?ukari?ki
|
Mihailo
|
Risti?
|
Celta
|
Srđan
|
Grahovac
|
Rapid Wien
|
Sini?a
|
Sani?anin
|
Partizan
|
Srđan
|
Babi?
|
Spartak Moscow
|
Rade
|
Kruni?
|
AC Milan
|
Mijat
|
Ga?inovi?
|
AEK Athens
|
Luka
|
Jovi?
|
AC Milan
|
Nemanja
|
Gudelj
|
Sevilla
|
Nemanja
|
Stevanovi?
|
Partizan
|
Nemanja
|
Jovi?
|
Free agent
|
?eljko
|
Gavri?
|
DAC Dunajska Streda
|
Stojan
|
Vranje?
|
Borac Banja Luka
|
Ognjen
|
Vranje?
|
?ukari?ki
|
Ognjen
|
O?egovi?
|
Example
|
Aleksandar
|
Subi?
|
Borac Banja Luka
|
Gojko
|
Cimirot
|
Example
|
Bojan
|
Nasti?
|
Example
|
Miroslav
|
Stevanovi?
|
Example
|
List of presidents
[
edit
]
A list o the presidents of the Football Association of Republika Srpska since its foundation on 5 September 1992 until the present day.
[1]
No.
|
President
|
Period
|
1
|
Branko Lazarevi?
|
5 September 1992 ? 1998
|
2
|
Milan Jeli?
|
1998 ? 30 September 2007
|
3
|
Mile Kova?evi?
|
1 October 2007 ? 17 December 2019
|
4
|
Vico Zeljkovi?
|
24 January 2020 ? present
|
References
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]
External links
[
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]