The autumn international football festival for children, called the Trophy of Novi Sad, was officially opened today in the Spens amphitheater. The festival was opened by the President of FK Vojvodina Dragoljub Samardžić and a member of the City Council for Sports and Youth Ognjen Cvjetićanin, and the opening ceremony was enhanced by the presence of the Consul of Montenegro in Serbia Bogoljub Jegdić.
Trophy of Novi Sad is a tournament in which 10 teams from seven countries participate, and in addition to Vojvodina, there are also Nizhny Novgorod (Russia), Borac Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Osijek (Croatia), Ferencvaros (Hungary), Sparta Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Vardar (Northern Macedonia), Budva (Montenegro), Old Airport Podgorica (Montenegro) and Partizan (Serbia). This festival is organized as part of the cooperation between Novi Sad and Nizhny Novgorod, twin cities, within which the boys from the Youth Academy Ilija Pantelić visited Russia at the end of the summer of this year and played several friendly matches with their peers.
The opening ceremony took place with a beautiful and interesting cultural and artistic program, which was in charge of the sports club Viva Dance and the music school Music harmony, whose performances delighted both prominent officials and all the boys from all participating clubs.
On behalf of FK Vojvodina and the City of Novi Sad, the president of the Old Lady, Dragoljub Samardžić, first greeted those present.
– Thank you to everyone who came to our city in these very complex circumstances. I am especially grateful to the people who lead sports in Novi Sad, led by our mayor Miloš Vučević, for recognizing the importance and need for holding this tournament. They have invested significant funds in order to show with friendly cities, through competition and socializing, how important the development of young athletes is in everyday life. Dear friends from twin cities, try to organize similar tournaments in your area, in order to show together that sport has no borders, and that our friendship is eternal – said Samardžić, who then presented the representatives of all participating clubs with appropriate plaques and gifts.
A member of the City Council for Sports and Youth, Ognjen Cvjetićanin, also welcomed all guests to Novi Sad and pointed out that the City provides full support to this important event.
– We are glad that the Vojvodina football club is the host of all of you and I am convinced that it will show you that Novi Sad is traditionally an open-hearted city, and that it is the European capital of culture and the youth capital of Europe for a reason. We want you to feel good here, and considering that the matches are played before noon, I hope that you will have time to visit our city, and thus get to know its beauties and charms. Also, I want you to make and nurture friendships, because that will mean a lot to you later in life – said Cvjetićanin.
After the opening ceremony, all those present continued to socialize at the welcome cocktail in the ceremonial hall of Spens, and after that, the football players and their coaches had free time which they used to visit the Promenada shopping center.
During this morning, the group phase of the Novi Sad Trophy has already been played, in which the following results have been achieved:
Group A: Vojvodina A – Vardar 3: 0, Vojvodina A – Budva 2: 0, Budva – Vardar 5: 2
Group B: Nizhny Novgorod A – Partizan 2: 1, Nizhny Novgorod A – Old Airport 0: 0, Partizan – Old Airport 1: 0
Group C: Osijek – Sparta 2: 0, Osijek – Nizhny Novgorod B 1: 0, Nizhny Novgorod B – Sparta 2: 0
Group D: Borac – Ferencvaros 2: 1, Vojvodina B – Ferencvaros 1: 0, Vojvodina B – Borac 0: 0
Tomorrow, from 9 am to 2 pm, the matches of the knockout phase will be played at the Fairgrounds, and photos from today’s matches, as well as from the opening ceremony, can be viewed here.
