As Montenegro prepares to host miniEURO2014, we give you the lowdown on all you need to know about minifootball in the country
Everything began with the Recreational League in 2011, which brought together 22 teams. Organizers of the league were league Nebojša Kraljević and Radoman Vučetić who wanted to gather all their friends from the football pitches, so that their occasional friendly matches could turn into competitive ones.
In early 2012, they received an offer to become a part of the European Minifootball Federation, they met certain requirements, such as the establishment of the national Association, the appointment of the Association management and many others. In April 2012 they registered as Association Minifootball Montenegro, and very quickly became a full member of the European Minifootball Federation.
The League quickly progressed and the number of teams has grown from season to season – 34 teams in 2012, 40 teams in 2013 and in this season 2014/2015 they have 48 teams.
In 2012, members of the Association became the Business league of Herceg Novi, which was founded by Igor Božović and Nedžad Šukurica. This league gathered almost all major companies in Herceg Novi. The business league started with 16 teams, and grew to 20 in the next two years, which is a remarkable number for this coastal city.
Currently AMFMNE has 68 registered clubs competing in leagues in Podgorica and Herceg Novi, so now they have 1,060 registered football players. As for the national team of Montenegro in minifootball, The Association has led the national team to the European Championship in Moldova and Greece. In Moldova they achieved an excellent result, a place in the final, taking the vice-champion title, after a loss to Romania in the tournament finals. A year later In Greece, Montenegro was stopped in the quarter-finals, after a loss to Russia.
The crown of the work and achievements of the Association Minifootball Montenegro was the invitation of the World Minifootball federation to take part in the first official World Championships in March 2015 in the United States, as well as winning the organization of the European Championships to be held in Herceg Novi from 26 to 30 November 2014.
European Championship matches will be played in Igalo Sports Hall. For this opportunity, the organizers will have artificial grass turf installed. Montenegro will play in group D along with Israel, Moldova and Scotland.