we also need big investments, pro- motion and work on growing the popularity of women's football. And only then can we expect the stadi- ums to be fuller and for us to play in front of thousands of fans.” What characterises this Serbian women’s nation- al team? “Our generation has great foot- balling quality, but what I would sin- gle out as the most important and best thing that characterises us is our team spirit and unity. Quite sim- ply, we are one big family through- out the year, wherever we are, and not just at our matches.” We’re certain that differ- ences exist between Eng- land and Serbia when it comes to women's football? “It happens that fans recognise me on the street, especially in the place where I live in England. I per- sonally wouldn’t like to be as pop- ular as Messi or Ronaldo, because I like my privacy and to be able to move and travel normally.” And you probably trav- el a lot? “Yes, which makes me particu- larly joyful, and I’ve had an oppor- tunity to live in several different countries. The city I would single out and where I would like to live one day is Amsterdam.” You certainly also use the services of Air Serbia of- ten? “I often travel with Air Serbia, particularly since I’ve lived in Lon- don, because there’s a direct flight from Belgrade to Heathrow airport. I’m very satisfied with the service provided by our airline; the crew is kindly and the flights are always comfortable.”
eters. This doesn’t mean that ladies in football boots will capitulate. On the contrary, women’s football has been experiencing a boom in recent years, both around the planet and in our country. Our girls were just one goal short of qualifying for the World Cup that was held recently in Australia and New Zealand, but they have made a successful start in the new competition, the UEFA Nations League. They are awaited by two more matches in December, away against Greece and at home against Ukraine. Many of our women football- ers also play abroad, one of whom is Jelena Čanković, a member of the Chelsea FC squad. We start by asking her how important it is for as many girls as possible to be en- ticed to train football in Serbia and how important the successes of our national team are to ensuring that happens... “Numbers are actually the most important factor, because you will more easily get quality through quantity. That’s how it’s done in the countries that have the most suc- cess in women’s football. Of course, good results are also very important and I think that qualifying for a ma- jor competition would significantly advance and improve the position of women’s football in Serbia, and
would certainly attract more girls to start training football.” We today have female foot- ballers from Serbia playing at Bayern, Chelsea, Fioren- tina and other big Europe- an clubs. What needs to be done for them to be heard and talked about more? “Women’s football doesn’t have such a strong following in our coun- try as it does in some, so to say, more developed countries, which is probably why the girls who play successfully at major clubs aren’t very well known. I will repeat, re- sults are important and changes will come with victories. Without more coverage in the media, it will be dif- ficult for us to achieve the level of popularity of male footballers. I be- lieve that we’re heading in the right direction and that we’ll succeed in generating interest among fans.” We saw full stadiums at the 2023 World Cup, with matches played in front of packed stands? When can we expect you to play at, say, Marakana Stadium? “We, in Serbia, are unfortunate- ly still a long way away from playing in front of 50,000 people, which is becoming an increasing trend in Eu- rope and around the world. Along- side good results, for that to happen
104 | Fudbal » Football
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