Parents of young footballers from Split: We will not send our children to war in Sarajevo!

When terrorism begins to spread fear on the streets, the first victim is civil society, and especially sports, writes Slobodna Dalmacija, as reported by the Bosnian news agency Patria.

In Sarajevo, traditionally, for nine consecutive years, from January 7 to 10, the indoor football tournament "Šampion Junior Cup Sarajevo" has been held. For eight years, the organizers have gladly welcomed young footballers and their parents from all countries of the former Yugoslavia, who left the tournament with smiles, satisfied with the organization, accommodation, and ambiance.

Football teams from Split and Dalmatia were also happy to go to the tournament, but then the events in Sarajevo on November 18 last year, when Wahhabi Enes Omeragić killed two soldiers of the Armed Forces of BiH in Rajlovac, and later the operation "Rez" in the same city, when 11 people were arrested on suspicion of maintaining contacts with Islamist groups, "killed" the tournament and revived fear among the parents of young footballers, who reluctantly decided: we are not risking our children's lives by sending them to war!

The organizer of the Sarajevo tournament, Almir Prguda, told us that last year 120 teams were registered for the tournament, but this year their number has sharply dropped to 80 teams.

– Despite our eight years of effort and good reputation, reports about terrorism and the exaggeration of that story by various news outlets have taken their toll. This year, young footballers from Split clubs NK Hajduk, NK Brda, NK Adriatic, and HNK Trogir, who were our regular guests, are not coming to the tournament. I cannot blame anyone and I understand our dear friends from those clubs. If there had been only one incident, without the subsequent arrest of these eleven in the "Rez" operation, the tournament attendance would have been the same as last year.

But too much has happened in a short time. For example, Split's NK Adriatic canceled at the last minute the arrival of 45 players and their parents from Split to Sarajevo – Prguda told us. He therefore invited a reporting team from Slobodna Dalmacija to come to the tournament and see for themselves that there is no danger for the participants.

Unsettled scores

– No one wrote that the killer of the two soldiers in Rajlovac had earlier had some quarrels with them and some unsettled scores, and the people in Sarajevo know that. If that is true, then it was not a terrorist act, but no one wrote or published that. And it is normal that this kind of mood has been created. From Dalmatia, this year, footballers from Split's Talent, as well as teams from Brač and Čaporice, came to the tournament. A total of 22 teams from Croatia, 14 from Slovenia, three teams from Montenegro, and four from Serbia have registered. There is one team from Austria, and the rest are all domestic. However, I hope the tournament will liven up and that everything will improve by March, when the tournament for older categories continues – Prguda is convinced.

The president of Split's NK Adriatic, Franko Bogdan, told us that they intended to send three of their indoor football teams to the tournament, but a pre-Christmas meeting of parents at his club decided otherwise.

– We planned to send three teams to Sarajevo, beginners and younger pioneers, that is, age groups 2005, 2006, and 2007, but at the parents' meeting before Christmas, concerns about the children's safety were expressed. The leader of our younger age groups, coach Zdravko Jukić, after the clear stance of the parents, then informed the organizer that we would not come to the tournament in Sarajevo. Yes, the departure of 45 footballers from our club and their parents was planned, but we postponed it for better times.

We had been going to the tournament in Sarajevo for six consecutive years, until now – Bogdan told us.