Teletović not leaving BiH national team

Mirza Teletović, captain of the BiH basketball team, has not said goodbye to our country's national team, as some media have reported.

Teletović had a conversation with the Vice-President of the Basketball Federation of BiH, Sejo Bukva, where they discussed our captain's future in the BiH team, as well as the pre-qualifications themselves. After the conversation, the coach Duško Vujošević was also informed of the details, and it was agreed that Teletović would not play in the pre-qualifications to give space to younger players.

This in no way means that Mirza has retired from the BiH national team, which is part of his identity and for which he has been playing for over 10 years.

- Everything that happened in the past qualifications left a big psychological mark on me, which also affected my performance at the club. Unfortunately, no one protected me from the media lynching, nor did anyone try to, and the facts just needed to be presented. In the end, I had to protect myself and my family, and I made an effort to resolve the incident and explain everything that happened to the public. Through this channel as well, I want to thank everyone who recognized my sincerity and listened to all the relevant facts. Instead of moving forward, the coach gave up on me, even though I wanted to be part of the team that traveled to Sweden. That is now in the past, but everything that happened certainly affected me. So, I emphasize once again – I have not retired from the national team and will be available in the future, but after the conversation with Mr. Bukva, we decided that I will not play in the pre-qualifications.

If the competition system changes, I will gladly respond to the new coach, and I believe that younger players should be given a chance to prove themselves and play in the pre-qualifications, as they have a bright future ahead of them, because we have the quality to overcome all opponents.

For the sake of my future and career, the decision to skip the pre-qualifications was not made hastily, but I have thought about it for a very long time. I know there will be those who will misinterpret everything, but everyone who knows me knows how much I love Bosnia and Herzegovina and with what zeal, desire, passion, and enthusiasm I wear the BiH jersey. After all, at the end of my career, I will continue to live in the most beautiful country in the world – BiH, and no one can take away the fact that I am its proud citizen – Teletović emphasized.

Therefore, Teletović is not retiring from the BiH jersey, as stated, but will not participate in the pre-qualifications.