Foundation stone laid for facility of Football Association of Serbia in Stara Pazova

Construction of the Sports Center of the Football Association of Serbia in Stara Pazova has been ceremoniously marked by laying of the foundation stone, which signified the beginning of works on this facility of national importance.

The foundation stone was laid by the representatives of FIFA and UEFA, Eva Paskije and Paskal Tores, the Minister of Youth and Sport, Snežana Samardžić-Marković, the President of the Olympic Committee of Serbia, Vlade Divac, the Mayor of Stara Pazova, Goran Jović, and the President of the Football Association of Serbia (FSS), Tomislav Karadžić.

The foundation stone was laid in the presence of the representatives of the Government of Serbia, sports organizations, members of the Assembly and the Executive Board of FSS and football clubs, as well as the representatives of the municipality and the citizens of Stara Pazova where this magnificient sports complex will be built.

Future center will occupy the area of about 12 ha. It will include six pitches with natural and artificial grass and lighting systems, one of which will have athletic track, while the central pitch will have the stands for 3,000 spectators. The complex will also comprise two shooting boxes and the building at 10,000 square meters with 65 rooms, economat, medical and spa center… This multifunctional complex will also include a hall for indoor sports (1,500 square meters), swimming pools, tennis courts, and other accompanying facilities. Actually, it will be used by all sportsmen, and it will represent the driving power of the economic development of this part of Serbia.

The value of the project whose participants are FIFA, UEFA, the state and FSS is about 10m EUR, 2.8m EUR of which will be provided by FIFA and UEFA, the Ministry of Youth and Sport will set aside the same amount of money, while the rest will be provided by FSS. This complex should be finished in one year.

– The promises made during the elections are, usually, not fulfilled, and we have already won because we are keeping our word. In this way, the Football Association of Serbia, as the strongest sports organization in the Balkans, is giving the opportunity to the greatest talents in our country and the surroundings. I hope that these works will be completed on time, or even before, and that one of the most beautiful centers in Europe will be opened by the President of Serbia, Boris Tadić, and the presidents of FIFA and UEFA, Jozef Blater and Michel Platini, respectively.

(Note: complete text is taken over from newspaper "Politika" of October 2nd, 2009)