In a city where sports are talked about with more passion than some burning, existential topics, the young members of the Women’s Football Club are looking for their place under the sun. Although Novi Pazar is famous as a city that creates top athletes, that sports team was not created in an environment that was completely ready for “girls in football boots”.
For a long time, football fields in Novi Pazar were reserved only for boys, but that situation is slowly changing. The grassy surface between the two goals is slowly becoming a space of quiet, but important, change and a place where girls and women run more and more decisively and boldly, although they are often faced with comments that ‘it is not a sport for girls’ and ‘does it have to be football’.
“I have to! Football has been all around me since I was born, my father is a coach. I was never one of those girls who thought football was boring and not for us. I thought the opposite and knew that one day I would coach it,” says thirteen-year-old Kanita Ramović proudly.
Although she is part of a football family, this student of “Avdo Međedović” Primary School has only been a part of ŽFK Novi Pazar for a year. She admits that there were comments that football is not for her.
“There were people who said that it was a sport for boys and it will always be that. I expected it, it didn’t surprise me and it doesn’t affect me. In such situations, the most important thing is the support of the family, and I had it. I know what I want,” adds Kanita.
About 40 girls are currently training football in Novi Pazar. Enver Gusinac, once a successful football player and then coach of men’s teams, works hard with them, and Meliha Reč helps him.
“It’s challenging to work, but I was at their age myself, I can understand them. Most of them are in their teenage years, it’s a sensitive period and we try to create a balance,” says this former soccer player.
She grew to love “the most important secondary thing in the world” with her relatives and neighbors. This was followed by studying at the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education, followed by active playing and training of soccer players.
“We are trying to popularize and affirm women’s football, and sports in general. However, we are still a patriarchal environment where girls are not sufficiently represented in football,” explains Meliha.
He adds that there were, albeit few, comments that he should not play football.
“Besides my family, I only had support and friends, especially boys who invited me to play with them, without making any difference. It’s easier for girls today, they have their own club, their own championship. There are talented girls and we must take advantage of this opportunity,” says Meliha.
This young sports team has already produced several national team members. The senior team plays in the Second League “West” and after the first part of the season takes second place. By the end of the championship, according to Meliha, their goal is to win first place and move to a higher rank – the First League.
The board members agree that the promotion of women’s football is the main goal and that with effort, will and love they manage to overcome all challenges.
“There will be difficulties and any help is welcome. We are the only ones in this area where we provide everything for free. From equipment to other things. It’s up to them to train and love this sport, without any burdens. Of course, school must be their first priority, that’s what we always tell them,” stressed the club’s general secretary , Senad Župljanin.
While female soccer players are just building their way, Novi Pazar already has generations of women whose names have become synonymous with top sports. One of them is Amela Terzić Ljajić , an athletic record holder whose results motivated thousands of girls to play sports, who is now the director of the Sports Association of Novi Pazar.
She knows very well how important support is for girls when they decide to play a sport.
“At the beginning of my career, the most I missed was the support and understanding that a woman can provide to a woman. I believe that female athletes go through specific physical and psychological cycles that are different from men, and then it meant to me that there is someone who understands this from personal experience,” Amela points out.
Today, Amela Terzić Ljajić tells girls not to wait for perfect conditions or complete support to start. The most important, he emphasizes, is the first step, because sport builds self-confidence and strength that last a lifetime, and very often those who persevere become role models for others.