By Jaroslaw Adamowski
July 11 – Serbian Minister of Youth and Sports Vanja Udovicic has held discussion with the management of the country’s leading football sides Partizan Belgrade and Red Star Belgrade on the possible privatisation of the state-owned clubs.
“The aim of the Serbian government is to act together with the representatives of the clubs to make a framework for a long-term sustainable and functional system which will … improve the quality of Serbian sports and secure their future,” Udovicic said, in reference to the clubs’ financial difficulties in the past years.
Red Star Belgrade was represented by three of its vice presidents, Nebojsa Covic, Slavisa Kokeza and Ivica Toncev, president of the club’s assembly, Msvetozar Mijajlovic, as well as its acting secretary general, Zvezdan Terzic. Partizan was represented by the club’s chief executive Dragan Djuric, secretary general Darko Grubor, and its sports association’s secretary, Milan Obucina.
The minister said that, following these meetings, the government would also launch talks with other sports club in which the state is involved.
The two clubs, based in Serbia’s capital city, currently play in the country’s top tier of professional football league, the SuperLiga, and have a long-standing rivalry.
Partizan owns a stadium with a capacity of 32,710, while Red Star operates a sports facility with a capacity of 55,538.
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