Bosnia and Herzegovina's sport on the verge of a precipice: Finances become an excuse for inaction

By Haris Ljevo

Sport in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been on the decline for a long time, and the worst part is that few people are seriously working to improve the situation.

Apart from football, all other sports have been reduced to an amateur level, and major clubs like KK Bosna and RK Borac have been brought to the brink of survival. The fact that there are still results is solely due to the enthusiasm of individuals, not systematic work.

Football is still holding on somehow, but primarily thanks to the national team and top players who play for major European clubs, thus supporting the work of certain clubs from abroad. Despite the national team's good image internationally and qualification for the World Cup in Brazil three years ago, football clubs are also slowly falling into huge problems.

Many clubs, such as former national champions Leotar, Modriča, and Brotnjo, have today been reduced to amateur clubs surviving in difficult conditions. Zenica's Čelik, with three national championship titles, is one of the biggest sports clubs in our country, but today it finds itself in a difficult situation despite playing in the Premier League.

In the last few years, Čelik has changed several managements and coaches, but the situation in the club, despite the great pressure from fans and citizens of Zenica, is not improving at all. The recent situation with Čelik's player Kouadio best illustrates the absurdity in which the club finds itself, as well as the general situation of work in many of our clubs.

Čelik player Germain Kouadio had to leave Bosnia and Herzegovina after his residence permit expired, and return to his home country, Ivory Coast. Kouadio will submit his papers at our consulate in Egypt to obtain a new permit and return to Zenica to continue his career at Čelik.

It truly sounds unbelievable that no one in the club's administration, in the 21st century, took care of when the player's permit expires. If there had been anyone even remotely serious in the club, the residence permit could have been extended online without putting the player in a ridiculous situation of traveling across Africa in the middle of the season when he is most needed by the club in the fight for survival, just to get the most ordinary piece of paper.

The financial situation in clubs has never been more difficult, but such oversights have nothing to do with finances. This oversight can only be a consequence of negligence and poor work.

If more serious work does not begin in sports clubs in the near future, cases like this one at Čelik will become our daily reality. And we are not far from such a situation.