A second video conference was held organized by the Football Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday with representatives of all clubs of the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The participants of the conference were greeted on behalf of the FF BH by president Elvedin Begic, and attended by general secretary Adnan Džemidžić, executive director of the sport sector Elmir Pilav and chairman of the Competition Committee Milorad O. Lale.
Club representatives were presented with an official letter from UEFA outlining guidelines on the principles of eligibility for participation in the UEFA club competitions for the 2020/21 season. The primary requirement is to end championship on the green field with the recommendation that national associations should exhaust all possibilities to complete the domestic competition by the end. It is the duty of the national associations to submit to the UEFA, by 25thMay 2020 at the latest, a plan for the continuation and format of the competition. There are only two justifiable reasons that a domestic competition may end prematurely. Firstly, if there are measures to ban the organization of sports competitions and the inability to complete them within the stipulated time. Another option is to end the national competition early, if for special economic and financial reasons, the eventual continuation of the season could endanger domestic competition and clubs in the long run. The clubs are also aware of the manner of eventual termination of the competition, in which case the procedure for clubs’ participation in the UEFA competitions is prescribed. In the event of any deviation from the set principles in the application of clubs for European competitions by national associations, UEFA reserves the discretion to refuse those clubs.
Furthermore, the clubs have been suggested a plan of activities prepared by the FF BH, related to the continuation of the training process and competition in the BHT Premier League. The indicative starting dates for the training process are from 08-10.05.2020 for individual preparations. The second part would start on 13.05.2020, when work would continue in groups (up to a maximum of 5 players), and the final part of preparations would start from 23.05.2020. The proposal to continue the competition in the BHT Premier League is planned for 07.06.2020. The provided document also explains a way of match organization, with the implementation of special security measures, protocols of arrival, stay and departure of the teams from the stadium, as well as the realization of the event, which will be held without the spectators. The implementation of the proposed activities requires the prior approval of the competent authorities, provided that all sanitary and hygienic conditions have been created for the smooth running of the players’ physical activities.
All deadlines are conditional; all proposed dates are adjusted to the current situation. If the epidemiological situation in our country improves in the coming period and the measures of the competent authorities are reduced or abolished, the FF BH Executive Board will only then consider proposals to continue the competition and make the necessary decisions. There is quite enough time to continue competing in the BHT Premier League, and what is most important at the moment is how to best prepare the sanitary conditions for the smooth continuation of the competition and the playing of matches, with the prior provision of all procedures for adequate protection of players’ health.
