The Football Federation of BiH has designed the project “Development of Youth Football Infrastructure through the Broader Community” with the aim of improving the infrastructure for the needs of youth teams of football clubs across Bosnia and Herzegovina and at various levels of competitions.
The aim is to improve the conditions for maintaining training sessions and playing as many training and official matches as possible, which will not depend on the weather conditions and the quality of the pitch maintenance, as is the case with natural grass fields.
The quality of artificial turf would be in accordance with the FIFA standard for artificial turf: FIFA Quality or FIFA Quality Pro.
The project should be implemented in cooperation only with local communities on the territory of which there are potential sites for construction of the pitch and where the addresses of clubs with existing youth teams are registered.
Local communities applied for the project through the cantonal/regional football federations.
For this project, the FF BH provided funds from UEFA (UEFA HatTrick V Program) in the amount of EUR 2,000,000.00.
The FF BH will bear the cost of purchasing, delivery and installing synthetic turf (FIFA Quality Pro request) for a 103m x 67m (gross 6901 m2) pitch with a pair of aluminium goals including the purchase of original tapes and adhesives, and these costs amount to EUR 133,333.33 for each field.
Local communities should fund the preparation of artificial turf substrate at an approved site with a drainage system. All this should be according to the project documentation and the instructions of the synthetic turf supplier, as well as the procurement and delivery of quartz sand and rubber granulate for filling the synthetic turf, and these costs amount to BAM 200,000.00 per pitch.
This project will be implemented in the following local communities: Travnik Municipality, Čapljina Municipality, Konjic Municipality, City of Široki Brijeg, Hadžići Municipality, Žepče Municipality, Gradačac Municipality, Cazin Municipality, Tomislavgrad Municipality, Goražde Municipality, Bijeljina Municipality, East Novo Sarajevo Municipality, Gradiška Municipality, City of Prijedor and City of Doboj.
The FF BH signed the Contract with UEFA on 18th June 2019, when the realization of the project officially started.
At the moment, projects in Hadžići and Žepče have been completed and implementation is underway in Široki Brijeg, Gradačac, Cazin, Konjic and Doboj. The dynamics of construction in other local communities will depend on the weather conditions in the coming period.