Football is the number 1 sport in Macedonia. The attitude and perception of the work of the Football Federation of Macedonia is extremely positive, while the level of interest in the matches of the National teams is constantly growing.

These are just some of the results that come from the scientific research on the attitudes towards Macedonian football. The research was done and conducted by Nielsen Sports, a leading international company specialized in research, data and insights, on behalf of the Football Federation of Macedonia with the support of UEFA.

Football is the number 1 sport in Macedonia (58%)

- The best Macedonian national team was placed at EURO 2020 and one of the biggest moments in our football history gives the opportunity to increase the overall interest.

- The younger population aged 18-24 has the greatest interest in football and is probably key in maintaining and increasing interest in football in Macedonia through the development of youth-focused strategies.

FFM reputation and communication (71% think that FFM has a positive overall picture - an increase of 50% compared to 2016)

- The role of the Football Federation of Macedonia in improving the overall picture of Macedonian football (from infrastructure to the results of national teams) has led to a significantly improved perception of FFM.

- In the next period, FFM should focus on campaigns that show real initiatives to achieve pre-defined and measurable goals related to the training of high quality coaches and referees and the development of youth programs.

- FFM should develop a communication strategy to increase awareness of organizational activity

Participation in football

- Participation in football is growing significantly. Football in Macedonia is the most popular sport because of the number of children who start training and playing football (27%).

- The participation of boys who start playing football is strong. FFM should continue to invest in the "Children's League" and in the development projects of "School Football". Thus, the number of participants in football increases and the number of registered players in clubs is encouraged. Home football

Home football

- First Macedonian League: Interest in the National Championship has increased by 6%. The age groups 18-24 and 25-34 have the greatest interest.

- The high interest of the population aged 18-24 for the best Macedonian national team should be an additional impetus to increase interest in the Macedonian league which should be a place where the next generation of Macedonian national team players begin their careers.

International football (since 2016 the interest has significantly increased from 43 to 50%)

- The interest for the Macedonian national teams is additionally increased with the campaign for EURO 2020. The promotional campaign should be focused on success, excitement and pride.

- After the European Championship, FFM should put accent on initiatives and support of other national teams with a chance to qualify for major tournaments in the future.

- Specific areas of focus should be training of high quality coaches and referees, improvement of the football infrastructure and development of the youth categories.

- It is very important to increase the interest for the youth national teams by showing the way of the players from the Macedonian national teams who were part of the youth national teams and reached the participation in UEFA EURO 2020.

The Football Federation of Macedonia, as a leader among sports organizations in Macedonia, regularly conducts public opinion polls on football and sports in general. For the needs of the last survey conducted in 2020, data from the survey conducted in 2016 were taken in order to make a comparison with the changes in the perception and achievements of the federation.

The full research can be viewed at the following link:

FFM_Image_Research_Presentation_FINAL.pdf