U7 (born in 2020) – MERIDIANA and 38 followers... actually, 38 “followers”
Among the youngest tournament participants we follow, there have been absolutely no changes this week. According to our figures, from first to thirty-ninth place on our ranking list (in other words, 39 teams have earned AFT points so far in this age group) – everyone is in the same place they were seven days ago.

So we’ll just mention that MERIDIANA from Novi Sad is first with 60 AFT points, while JEDINSTVO from Rumenka is second with 35 points; while three teams “share” third place in this age group, with 25 points each – VOŠINI KLINCI (Novi Sad), SPORTISIMO (Bijeljina) and NK STUDENTSKI GRAD (Zagreb).

Now that we’ve shared that with you, we can move on to the next age group with a clear conscience, and you can check THIS LINK to see where your team, or your favorite team, ranks.  

U8 (born in 2019) – “WE DON’T STOP PLAYING BECAUSE WE GROW OLD; WE GROW OLD BECAUSE WE STOP PLAYING” – (George Bernard Shaw, Irish writer) 
Many teams in this age group earned their first AFT points, or added to their tally, thanks to good performances at one of the three tournaments that also featured this age category over the weekend. Let’s take them in order:

The EUROSPORT CUP “happened” in Kumanovo and wowed North Macedonia, as well as all of us, with its excellent organization, the “big-name” participants from the country, the region and Europe, and some excellent performances. Thanks to the points they earned at this tournament, EUROSPORT (the tournament hosts and organizers) climbed to first place.

In the final of the tournament, they were defeated by NEGOTINO , who consequently climbed as many as 21 places and are now third in their age group.

YOUNG TEAM from Struga, as well as AF ALEXANDRO from Skopje, can also be pleased with their performances at this tournament, as they too improved their positions as a result.

The second tournament that “shook up” our rankings was the LINO CUP in Makarska, Croatia. Looking at who “profited” the most from it in this age group, it was undoubtedly the Makarska champions, NK ADRIATIC, who now sit in fourteenth place on our ranking list.

The third tournament we’ll mention this week is the COERVER CUP. In this age group, the hosts and organizers of the tournament were also its winners, earning them fifth place in the AFT rankings. The other finalists, STARI AERODROM from Podgorica, climbed 57 places thanks to their “silver” medal in Novi Pazar and are now in seventh place on our ranking list.

The third-place team at the tournament was FK NOVI PAZAR, which is why, despite being “new” to our ranking list, they have reached a tie for fourteenth place with SPARTAK from Subotica and the previously mentioned NK ADRIATIC.

Unfortunately, we must also mention that over the past two days, we have received many complaints from parents of children from Podgorica (as well as other tournament participants) about the final match in Novi Pazar.

We were not present at this match, so we cannot judge whether what they report is true, but we hope there will be far fewer controversial situations and unpleasant moments in children’s football than in the “adult game”.

Organizers, coaches and parents should know that all these tournaments, among other things, also play an educational role in the development of young footballers, and that it is largely up to them and us how the children will remember them.

Let’s try to show them by our own example what fair play means, both on and off the pitch, while allowing that mistakes and even sporting injustices can happen, because those too are life lessons.

As AFT, we therefore hope that this misunderstanding and unpleasantness will soon be forgotten (and we appeal for it not to happen again), and that the children will keep playing, competing and spending time together, without us grown-ups getting involved.

That’s all for the 2019 age group. If you’re interested in the standings of all 146 teams on this ranking list  , you can follow them HERE

U9 (born in 2018) – ALMOST 300 CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU
There were some interesting changes among the top 20 in this age group, as well as among all 282 teams on this ranking list.

GNK DINAMO and VOJVODINA still hold the top two spots, but it’s worth mentioning that HNK HAJDUK are now in third place, having earned it after strong performances at the GOLMANIA CUP and the LINO CUP.

The biggest rise (among the top 20 teams in this age group) was made by AKADEMIJA BAR, who won the tournament in Novi Pazar to reach fifth place in our standings and, in the process, “leapfrogged” no fewer than 42 teams.

To finish, we’ll also mention FK CRVENA ZVEZDA, who, thanks to a strong performance and third place at the COERVER CUP, reached ninth place, climbing 11 spots.

It’s great to see that almost 300 teams have already earned AFT points in this age group. Since we can’t cover absolutely all of them in these reports, look them up for yourself at THIS LINK  

U10 (born in 2017) – ALL IT TAKES IS ONE SPARK FOR “SPARKS” TO SHINE
Of the 251 ranked teams in this age group, the top three are CRVENA ZVEZDA, DINAMO and HAJDUK — and that’s pretty much the only thing that hasn’t changed in the rankings.

Starting from fourth place, now occupied by YOUNG TEAM from Struga (thanks to their win at the EUROSPORT CUP), things get “complicated.” Fifth place is now held by AERODROM from Skopje, who finished third at the same tournament, while this week NK VARAŽDIN “claimed” sixth place thanks to their silver medal at the GOLMANIA CUP.

Seventh place is currently shared by VOJVODINA and FK SPARKS KMF from Novi Pazar (who won the tournament in their hometown this weekend, and as a result “jumped” an impressive 113 places in our standings).

FORCA from Skopje also made a good climb and are now in 15th place, having risen 56 places thanks to their second-place finish at the EUROSPORT CUP. We’ll also mention AF ALEXANDRO from Skopje, once again thanks to Kumanovo, as they too are now among the top 20.

You can check the standings of all the other teams HERE, and we’ll keep going.    

U11 (born in 2016) – THE LARGEST AGE GROUP, A SOURCE OF PRIDE FOR ALL NATIONS
Not much has happened in this age group in terms of changes among the top 20 teams. First and second place belong to ZVEZDA and VOJVODINA, but now the Split “Bili” Hajduk are third, having won the 17th MALI ZMAJ tournament (the LINO CUP and MALI ZMAJ are, in fact, a single tournament split into two competitions based on age categories).

There has also been a change in sixth place, now occupied by STARI AERODROM, thanks to points earned at the same tournament. It’s also worth highlighting the achievement of Sarajevo’s FK ŽELJEZNIČAR, who are now tied for nineteenth place after coming close to winning the COERVER CUP.

We can hardly believe it (but check for yourself at THIS LINK), but in just three months of the new season, no fewer than 314 teams in this age group have “earned” AFT points. Congratulations to everyone, and keep it up!  

U12 (born in 2015) – EVEN HOUSEWIVES KNOW THAT STAINLESS STEEL IS THE BEST!
For weeks now, this age group has been led by FK PARTIZAN and FK ČUKARIČKI, two “black-and-white” Belgrade teams, so that’s not exactly news. But we should praise BOREC JUNIOR from Veles, who now occupy third place and aren’t far from getting involved in the battle for the top two spots.

They owe their success to their second-place finish at the EUROSPORT CUP, while AF ALEXANDRO have moved up to fourteenth place this week, thanks to their finish at the same tournament. However, the biggest “jump” this week was made by ČELIK from Zenica, who proved that “strike while the iron is hot” is good advice, leaping 103 places to reach eighth in the standings.

Interestingly, they have earned AFT points at just two tournaments so far, but finished on the champions’ podium at both — most recently this weekend in Novi Pazar.

The 207 teams that have earned AFT points are waiting for you to look them up at THIS LINK, so don’t keep them waiting too long.

U13 (born in 2014) – “AND THEN I LOOK AT ŽELJO’S STADIUM, I SEE YOUR PRIDE...” (Tifa, “Grbavica”)
The oldest age group we follow has gotten a little “lazy” when it comes to changes among the top 20 teams. That doesn’t mean there haven’t been shifts among the 149 teams “recorded” in this table so far, but we’ll leave you to investigate those.

We’ll mention two teams that caught our eye this week: ŽELJEZNIČAR from Sarajevo, who “charged past” 96 other teams to reach a tie for tenth place with ZLATNA LOPTA from Podgorica, who made a “modest” climb of 24 places.

Both teams earned their positions thanks to strong performances in Novi Pazar, where “ŽELJO” finished second and the team from Podgorica came third.

Check out the other changes — and there were some — at THIS LINK, and feel free to boast about your team’s position if we haven’t praised you today.

Sometimes the referee makes a mistake, sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce right, but young footballers soon forget. Adults shouldn’t get in their way: wins and points fade, but the smile after a great play stays

Wins “warm the soul,” while defeats make us sad (and sometimes hurt), especially if we think they’re unfair — but that’s life. We’re not saying that we should forget everything and pretend nothing happened, and we also believe there are many things more important than winning “at any cost.”

Don’t let the little ones, for whom football is still just a game, watch us “grown-ups” ruin that game with our ambitions and unfulfilled dreams. Let’s give each other the chance to be better people, parents and coaches first, and only then better placed in the standings.

Children forget our words, but not our actions. Think about what you’ll leave them to remember. 
Until next week and more heartwarming football stories — sporting regards from the AFT team!