COM EUFOR at EUFOR Cup 2010 opening in Sarajevo.

On 19th October 2010, COM EUFOR, Major General Bernhard Bair, opened the 2^nd EUFOR Cup 2010 qualifier at Vistafon hall, Sarajevo.

COM EUFOR thanked all the partners of the Cup, especially AF BiH without whose help this event would not have been possible and said that the most important thing was the opportunity to meet and mix with other players.

48 teams from the Sarajevo region will compete for places in the national final, taking place in November.

Read more: COM EUFOR Opens EUFOR Cup 2010 Qualifiers in Sarajevo

EUFOR Cup 2011 in play.

On October 13th 2010, the first regional qualifiers of the EUFOR Cup 2010 kicked off in Sports Center Borik in Banja Luka.

“This competition is more than just sports event, because it gives you an opportunity to meet and become friends with your peers from the entire BiH”, said COM EUFOR Major General Bernhard Bair in his letter read by Colonel Antonov to the participants at the opening of the tournament.

Read more: EUFOR Cup 2010 Qualifiers Kick Off in Banja Luka

On 19th September 2010, EUFOR Info Ops team travelled to Kakanj to greet a group of the secondary school pupils as they were leaving for their visit to Austria. 

Five pupils of the Gymnasium Kakanj, together with their professor, won the trip to Austria on the EUFOR School Competition 2010. They departed from Kakanj by bus.

The main SC prizes - Travels abroad: Slovenia, Hungary, Turkey and Austria

ECD Chief, Lt Col Svetlin Antonov, visited Sarajevo Airport to greet a group of two secondary school pupils coming back from Turkey.

Trip to Turkey

On Tuesday 10th August 2010 at 09:00 EUFOR ECD Chief, Colonel Svetlin Antonov visited Sarajevo International Airport to greet a group of two secondary school students as they were coming back from their 10 days visit to Turkey.

Five students of the High school “28th of June” East Sarajevo (RS), and three students of the Gymnasium Breza (Federation of BiH), together with their professors won the trip to Turkey on the EUFOR School Competition 2010. The group projects that these two schools have made were chosen as ones of the best on the last EUFOR School Competition 2010.

Read more: Winners of EUFOR School Competition 2010

COM EUFOR, Major General Bernhard Bair together with the Austrian Director General of Directorate General III (Assets Provision), Lieutenant General Freyo Apfalter. In the picture also the guide of the tour Mr  Bajro Kolar and his son Mr Edis Kolar

19 August 2010, COM EUFOR, Major General Bernhard Bair together with the Austrian Director General of Directorate General III (Assets Provision), Lieutenant General Freyo Apfalter and the EUFOR Austrian Senior National Representative Colonel Lattacher made an official visit to view the ‘Tunnel of Life’ that provided a logistical lifeline to the people of Sarajevo during the siege of the city.  The guided tour was led by members of the Kolar family.  COM EUFOR stated: “Learning the lessons of history, which is factually based and incorporates the views of all  parties, is a very important factor for understanding the past so that communities and a nation can develop and move forward together peacefully and progressively”.

Students from the High School “28th of June” East Sarajevo (RS), and students of the Gymnasium Breza (Federation), and their professors welcomed back to Sarajevo.

Tuesday 10th August, EUFOR’s Colonel Svetlin Antonov met secondary school students returning to Sarajevo airport from Turkey.   Five students from the High School “28th of June” East Sarajevo (RS), three students of the Gymnasium Breza (Federation), and their professors enjoyed a fascinating holiday as part of their prize for competing in the EUFOR 2010 Schools’ Competition.  Professors Mrs. Aida Musanovic and Mrs. Mihajlovic MIlanka expressed their gratitude to EUFOR and the Turkish Embassy for sponsoring the prize.  

Wednesday 11th August, Wolfburg’s Edin Dzeko, in cooperation with UNICEF, publicly  endorsed the EUFOR CUP 2010.  Prior to flying out from Sarajevo airport he praised EUFOR’s youth initiatives and will be returning in September to encourage children from all corners of BiH to participate.

Edin Dzeko

Last year’s EUFOR Football competition was a resounding success with 48 schools participating. The event was supported by major European sporting organizations with the winning teams hosted by The Premier League, FC Wolfsburg and FC Utrecht. In many towns across Bosnia and Herzegovina the children soon became minor celebrities.
As a result of last year’s interest EUFOR plans to hold regional qualifying days in September with the finals taking place in Sarajevo. Details of the event will be published on the web www.euforbih.org in early September. Additionally, EUFOR Liaison and Observation Teams will encourage applications from schools in their local areas. To view a report on last year’s event please visit You Tube and search for EUFOR CUP 2009.