Today, we are talking about a tournament that gathers hundreds of teams, thousands of children, coaches, and parents from numerous countries. Ilinden Cup is no longer just a local or national tournament – it has become a place where football schools and clubs from different parts of Europe meet.

For our football school and FC Ilinden, this represents a huge recognition, but at the same time, a great responsibility. It is especially important to us that all of this happens right in the Municipality of Ilinden. We want to promote our municipality, our clubs, and Macedonia as a country that can organize large and quality international tournaments through football.

2. From the very beginning, the tournament has attracted serious names like Anderlecht, Beerschot, Partizan, Vojvodina, and Vardar. Which teams and from which countries can we expect at this year's edition of Ilinden Cup?

This year, we expect an exceptionally high-quality international competition. Ilinden Cup will host clubs and football schools from several European countries, and we are especially pleased that among the participants are clubs with a great tradition and well-developed youth programs.

In addition to clubs from Macedonia, we expect teams from Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Turkey, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, and other countries.

We already have confirmed or announced clubs such as Anderlecht, Partizan, Red Star, Vojvodina, FCSB, Dinamo Zagreb, as well as a large number of other clubs.

We are particularly pleased that every year we have new countries and new clubs. This is the best indicator that Ilinden Cup is increasingly recognized as a serious international tournament.

3. Welcoming hundreds of young footballers, coaches, and parents from multiple countries is a serious organizational endeavor. How are the final preparations going on the fields in Ilinden and what do you pay the most attention to?

The organization of a tournament of this magnitude practically lasts throughout the entire year. The last weeks before the tournament are just the final phase of everything we have been preparing for months.

We pay the most attention to the fields, the match schedule, refereeing, the safety of the children, transportation, accommodation, and communication with the clubs. When you have a large number of teams and a lot of matches over several days, every detail must be precisely planned.

This year we will again have matches at multiple locations and a large number of mini-fields, and our goal is for every participant to have the same conditions and for the tournament to function without unnecessary delays and problems.

What is most important to us is that coaches can focus on football, parents can enjoy the matches, and children feel that they are participating in a major European football event.

4. Besides the fight for trophies, what do you want every child to take away from Ilinden Cup as the most valuable memory?

The trophy is nice and every child wants to win, but for us, the trophy is not the most important thing.

We want the child from Ilinden Cup to take away memories of the friendships they made, the matches they played, the opponents they met, and the atmosphere they experienced.

A child from Macedonia might play against a team from Belgium, Serbia, Turkey, or Romania, and after the match, they will talk, take photos, and socialize with those players. That is something that football can offer, and it lasts much longer than a single result.

In the end, we want every child to say: “I was at Ilinden Cup and I want to come back again.”

5. The tournament is part of the official AFT Tour calendar, and this year Ilinden Cup received prestigious status as part of the Elite Tour, meaning it is among the highest quality tournaments in the AFT system. How does participation in the AFT system facilitate tracking results and how do AFT points provide additional competitive motivation for the teams?

Participation in the AFT system is a very significant step for us. Ilinden Cup gained additional international visibility and a place in a system where tournament results can be tracked and compared through AFT.

It is especially important that teams do not come just to play a few matches, but have the opportunity to earn points through quality competition and advance on the AFT ranking list.

This certainly gives additional competitive motivation to coaches and players. When you know that the result and performance in the tournament matter beyond the competition itself, every match carries additional weight.

For us, it is especially important that Ilinden Cup has received the status of an ELITE TOUR tournament and that it is in the category of the highest quality tournaments in the region.

6. How does the AFT platform help the tournament gain greater media attention and how do the results of young talents reach the public faster and more easily?

AFT allows us to take Ilinden Cup beyond local boundaries and for the results and information about the tournament to be seen by a much wider football audience.

Today, it is very important for results, statistics, and information about teams to be quickly accessible and trackable. This is especially significant for young players, as their performances become more visible to coaches, clubs, scouts, and football enthusiasts.

We want Ilinden Cup to be more than just a classic tournament. We want it to be a place where young footballers can showcase their quality in front of a large audience from the football world.

Collaboration with AFT greatly helps us in this and adds additional value to the entire project.

7. Finally, what would you say to the coaches, parents, and football enthusiasts who plan to come and support their favorites in Ilinden?

I would invite everyone to come to Ilinden and be part of this year’s Ilinden Cup.

To the coaches, I would say to expect quality matches and very strong international competition. To the parents, I would say to enjoy every moment and support their children, regardless of the result. And to the football enthusiasts, I would say to come and see how much talent and energy these young generations have.

Ilinden during the tournament will be a place where a large number of matches will be played, but also a place for meetings of different cultures, football schools, and people who love football.

Our goal is for everyone who comes to leave satisfied and with the desire to return again next year.

8. Would you like to add anything that we didn’t ask you?

Maybe I would just add that Ilinden Cup is not a project of one person or one organization. It is a project of a large number of people who work every day to make everything look as we envisioned.

I would especially like to thank all the clubs that trust us, the coaches, parents, volunteers, referees, the people working on the fields, and all the partners and sponsors who support us.

This year’s edition will take place from September 11 to 13, 2026, and I believe that together we will create another great football celebration in Ilinden.

For us, the greatest confirmation of success is when teams that have been our guests once return again. That means we have done a good job.
See you at Ilinden Cup 2026!