There are a few football associations in the world that had a worse initial position than the association of Bosnia and Herzegovina but it managed to catch up with the world elite, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said on Thursday at the opening of new Bosnia's Football Association headquarters.

“The world today is admiring the results of your national team, which qualified for the A group of the League of the Nations. That's a great success,” Ceferin said.

“You have great talents and coaches, but your infrastructure is extremely bad. Last time I was in Sarajevo we got guarantees of the state institutions that they're ready to help to solve this problem, which is important for the progress of football in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said the UEFA leader.

The international football governing bodies, UEFA and FIFA, provided the amount of 10 million marks (approx. €5 million) for reconstruction of Bosnia's Football Association building.

The international financial support meant a lot and Bosnian football authorities will not betray the trust of UEFA and FIFA, said Bosnian Football Association President, Elmedin Begic.

“Dear Aleksander, our friend from UEFA, thank you very much for entering our lives and making them better. We are leaving this building to the future generations to witness an era of a good and transparent management, an era of reforms, changes, success, courage and vision,” added Begic.

The opening ceremony was attended by prominent figures of the domestic and international football.

(€1 = 1.95 marks)