Football in Northern Macedonia is one of the most popular sports in the country . The Football Federation of Northern Macedonia was formed in 1949 , the country became a member of FIFA in 1994 [1] , and became a member of UEFA the same year. There are 3 professional leagues in the country, tournaments for the Cup are held annually, and since 2011 for the country's Super Cup for football (irregularly).
The main football stadium in Northern Macedonia is the Philip II of Macedonia National Arena , which seats 36,400 spectators. She hosts the games of the national team and the home matches of the local clubs Vardar and Rabotnichki .
Content
As part of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Republic of Macedonia until 1991 was part of Yugoslavia . During this period, Macedonian clubs were built into the system of football leagues in Yugoslavia. The most successful of them was Vardar from Skopje, who spent 33 seasons in the First League of Yugoslavia . The rest of the North Macedonian clubs ( Rabotnichki , Teteks and Pelister ) appeared in the main league of the country in isolated cases and, according to the results of the first season, flew out in it. “Vardar” played in the championship of Yugoslavia, at best, the role of the middle peasant, not having a single place in the final three and periodically leaving the First League. The main success of North Macedonian football in the Yugoslav period was the victory of Vardar in the 1960/61 Yugoslav Cup . The best final position in the championship is the 5th place of Vardara according to the results of the 1984/85 season . Three times “Vardar” represented Yugoslavia in European competition and left them in the early stages. Vardar won the only victory in the framework of the first round of the UEFA Cup 1985/1986 , having defeated the Dynamo Bucharest at home with a minimum score [2] .
Independence Period
In 1991, North Macedonia gained independence. After 3 years, she became a member of FIFA and UEFA . The first national championship draw took place in the 1992/93 season . In European competitions, the first club to represent independent Northern Macedonia was Vardar , who lost in the first round of the 1994-1995 UEFA Cup to the Hungarian Bekeszczaba.
In the 1997/98 season, the North Macedonian teams made their debut in the most prestigious European tournament - the UEFA Champions League. The current champion of the country, “ Sileks, ” took off in the first qualifying round, losing to the Israeli “ Beitar ”. Since then, every year the champion of Northern Macedonia participates in the qualification of the Champions League, however, not a single North Macedonian club has yet reached the group round (as of mid-2016).
National Team
The National Football Team of Northern Macedonia is the national football team representing Northern Macedonia in international games. In fact, it was formed after the collapse of Yugoslavia and played the first game against the Slovenian team on October 13, 1993 [3] . The Macedonians defeated the home team with the score 4: 1 in the Slovenian city of Kranj . The national team of Northern Macedonia did not participate in the final games of the World Championships and European Championships .
Notes
- ↑ Macedonia // Planet Soccer
- ↑ Vardar 1-0 Dinamo Bucureşti
- ↑ Macedonia - International Results