Dejan Čato, Director of FC Borac Banjaluka - We have a winning DNA, we have brought back the audience, we are developing our own football school

- The team showed all its quality on the field, and what makes us particularly happy is that we "showed our teeth" to all rivals, including those who have several times bigger budgets than ours.

All of this is the result of a good work within the club. We all breathe as one, from players to coaching staff, and to all employees of FC Borac. We are all subordinated to one goal, and that is that FK Borac is improving day by day. We rolled up our sleeves, got down to work and arranged things within the club in a good way, and all of that gave results.

The historic success in European competitions was precisely the occasion for us to talk to the club management, and as Čato tells us, with good results came numerous benefits - the audience returned to the City Stadium, players are under greater scrutiny, for some of them, the market value "jumped",

the club`s income increased, new sponsors came...

- The biggest challenge for us, after being placed in the league part of the UEFA Conference League, represented the adaptation of the City Stadium for playing matches in this phase of the European competition. We have been working around the clock to meet UEFA`s strict criteria, and that was by no means an easy task. I would like to praise, by this occasion, all those who came to our aid to get the City Stadium its European outfit and to obtain permission to play UEFA Conference League matches. There were also construction works, adaptation of space within the stadium itself. A lot has been done in a short time and everyone at the club can be proud of that fact that we were able to obtain all the necessary UEFA permits.

As for the team`s preparation for the game on two fronts, that`s more of a question for the coaching staff, but our results show that we managed to meet that challenge as well. It is the merit of our sports sector, which has formed a team full of high-quality, but also character players who have a huge motive and desire to win, in every game, regardless of the competition level. We were also lucky that there were no serious injuries, which also speaks volumes of the good work of the expert staff, and our club`s medical team. All this, when arranged in the right way, leads to success. Our priority and the main goal are the trophies here. We want to win the "double crown" because the road to the European stage leads through domestic competitions. We are lagging behind Zrinjski, but we have a long football spring ahead of us and I am convinced that we can make up for the points gap. The team will do their best to make it happen. I believe that the WWIN League of Bosnia and Herzegovina has gained more quality by building a field with a hybrid surface. Investment in infrastructure is a priority, not only for us, but for the other clubs as well. The league is tied again this season and I am sure that the fight for trophies, European visas, but also for survival, to lead to the last round.

- Our priority, even before these European successes, is investment and development of infrastructure without which there is no further development and progress of any sports club, so ours too. Sports infrastructure, which includes not only the fields, but also all the necessary accompanying contents,

it is the foundation for further progress. FK Borac is working hard on that. We are nearing the end of the construction of the terrain at two locations in Banja Luka with which we will obtain a new dimension in functioning.

The youth school will have a huge benefit from it and investment in the youth school and the development of its own playing staff is also one of the club`s priorities. Today we are witnessing that all the clubs in Europe, and even those we consider to be from "non-soccer" countries, as we like to call them here, have an enviable infrastructure and are far ahead of us. That`s why we shouldn`t be surprised when such clubs achieve good results on the European stage. Today, everyone invests and everyone wants a result. That`s why we have to follow the same idea and keep up with the competition.

As far as investing in the team is concerned, we are always guided by looking at the bigger picture.

Number one is our playing qualities, but we are trying to bring in players who also have a winning character and fighting spirit. Borac must always have a team which carries that winning DNA in itself and to have a team that will represent the name of the club in a dignified manner. The fall season is slowly coming to an end and soon we will summarize everything we have done so far. It is too early to talk about departures and arrivals, but the transfer window is a "living thing" and everything is possible. Of course, now there is also a greater interest in our players, and on the other hand, there are other players` wishes to come to our club.

- The market value of our team according to the specialized website Transfermarkt at this moment is around 8.6 million EUR, and our budget is among the top five in the WWIN League of BiH. Our team`s good performances did not go unnoticed and the market value of several players "jumped" after their appearance on the European stage. That`s another big benefit of playing in the group stage of a European competition. You are under the watchful eye of everyone and every move is being watched. I will remind you that, this summer, we also had the transfer of Jove Lukić to the Romanian University from Craiova, and for several of our players there is already interest from certain clubs. However, they are all under contract, so the club decides about everything. Of course, we are happy that there is more interest in our players now and that they found themselves under the European scrutiny. I will remind you that we also have several national team members in our ranks, both seniors and youths,

and all of that gives additional market value to our team and our players.

- We have our own path and our goal is for FC Borac to get better every day and to make big strides. In football, you don`t live off of old merits and you have to keep looking forward, to plan for tomorrow, to keep up with other competitors. Both on and off the field. FC Borac is the biggest sports club in the Republic of Srpska and it is our duty to make constant progress. Sports goals are always the highest, and that is the fight for all the trophies here. In the past few seasons we won two championship titles, we played the BiH Cup final twice, and we regularly appear on the European stage. All of these experiences help us to build plans for the future. I repeat, the priorities are investing and building new infrastructure, youth school development, while creating a senior team that will continue the streak of success.

- The European results that we have achieved brought us significant revenues from UEFA that rewards every success, but also knows how to punish any omission. Of course the money we earned on the field brought us a new dose of financial stability, but on the other hand, we want to invest that money in all the things I mentioned before. FC Borac is, not only this season, but in previous seasons as well, a stable club that regularly services current liabilities, and the salaries of the players, coaching staff and working community are regular. However, everything we did on the European stage during the season contributed to being able to expand our plans and activities, and all with the aim, I repeat, of further development of FC Borac. A lot is planned and I believe that everything will be done and at the same time, be a source of pride for all supporters of our club.

- FC Borac is the largest and most recognizable club in the Republika Srpska. I don`t want to diminish or belittle others, but I believe it is so. We are also proud of the group of sponsors who are always by our side and who were with FC Borac even when there were some difficult times. They are still with us now, and we can also boast of some new sponsors who arrived at FC Borac and who recognized all that we do. Our success reverberated across the region and on the marketing side, it is a big plus for us. We try to take advantage of that in order to further increase club revenues. We were unlucky with bad weather during the European matches in Banja Luka, but during the qualifiers the City Stadium was full to the maximum. Tickets for the rematch with PAOK sold out in record time, more tickets were requested for other matches as well. I also hope that the Banja Luka audience will recognize the moment the club is in and that they will attend in larger numbers to the championship matches. Football is played for the sake of the fans and I hope that the stands of the City Stadium will be full again like before. The players who wear the FC Borac jersey deserve it the most because of their relationship with the club and the city.

- Football has long since outgrown sports and has become a kind of business. I repeat, FC Borac has been widely recognized for a long time, but with these European results it became even more visible on the football map. All of this should be used for the development of the local community, but FC Borac cannot and must not be the only "motor" in the whole story. We are witnessing that there are cities where you live for the matches, cities where the day of the match is like a holiday, but in those places the entire local community is involved and subordinated to the success of the sports club. I`m not saying our club needs everyone to submit, but it would be nice if everyone would get involved in marketing activities of which there is no shortage, and thus contribute to the success of FC Borac.

- We increased the number of marketing activities in the past period and I think it`s at a decent level now. It can always be better, and we strive to move towards a higher goal every day. FC Borac today also has two official shops where you can buy souvenirs of our club. There are constant actions where we want to attract fans to the stadium. Our players are frequent guests of elementary schools, we are omnipresent on social media without which you can`t live today, and we try in every possible way to animate the audience to come to the stadium. Soon, all our fans will be waiting for a news that we are implementing with one of our sponsors, and which, I`m sure, will meet with the sympathy of the Borac public. What is important to emphasize is that everyone at FK Borac is ready to work for this club to grow.