The Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina (N/FSBiH) is in talks over developing a new national stadium in Sarajevo, with the project set to backed by European and world governing bodies UEFA and FIFA.
The Reprezentacija website said the stadium was on the agenda as a delegation from UEFA and FIFA visited the N/FSBiH last month, posting photos from the meeting that appear to show renderings of the facility.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s men’s team currently split their home matches between the 13,785-capacity Stadion Grbavica in Sarajevo and the Bilino Polje in Zenica. The ‘BH Arena’ will reportedly have a capacity of between 20,000 and 30,000.
UEFA and FIFA are said to have already confirmed they will assist in the project, but only if local authorities provide land and draw up a construction plan. Reprezentacija said the Municipality of Novi Grad is prepared to do this through the transfer of land in Halilovici.
Commenting on the reports, the N/FSBiH told local newspaper Nezavisne novine: “There have been several talks on the construction of the ‘BH Arena’ so far. First of all, at the headquarters of UEFA and FIFA, that is, the institutions that should be the main financiers of the implementation of this demanding project.”
The governing body said the project should take between four and five years to complete, adding: “The construction of the national stadium is in the interest of N/FSBiH, but the support of the competent institutions is also needed in the form of obtaining the location, documentation and the like.”
Image: N/FSBiH
