Sport in North Macedonia
Considered as a successor state from what was known as Yugoslavia, North Macedonia is a relatively new state. They declared their independence in 1991 and became a member of the UN in 1993. Although athletes from this region have been involved in international sport previously, they did not compete under their own name until the break up of Yugoslavia in 1991, as was also Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia-Montenegro.
Macedonians have appreciated sports all throughout their long history. As with most European countries, North Macedonia has football as their top sport. In August 12, 2009, their national football team played an exhibition match with the European champions of the time to celebrate football's centennial year in North Macedonia in their home field the Philip II Arena. Goran Pandev, widely considered as the star player of the team at the time scored two goals in the first half giving them a 2-0 lead by half time.
Another popular sport in North Macedonia is handball. Their women's team, Kometal Skopje, took the EHF Women's Champions League European Cup in 2002. In 2008, the European Women's Handball Championship was also held in North Macedonia in which their national team finished seventh.
Basketball is also very popular and their national basketball team became part of FIBA in 1993. Since then, they have participated in three Eurobaskets with their best as 4th place in 2011. During the summer time, the Ohrid Swimming Marathon is held on Lake Ohrid which most of the country's best swimmers participate in. When it comes to the Olympics, North Macedonia's first medal came in 1956 when Skopje-born Blagoja Vidinić played for then Yugoslavia as a goalkeeper and took the silver.
Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to North Macedonia.
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Popular sports of North Macedonia
- Football (Soccer), Handball, Basketball
North Macedonia Sporting Success
- Macedonian Blagoje Vidinić won gold playing as goalkeeper for the Yugoslavia team in 1960. In 1956 the team came second.
Great athletes from North Macedonia
- Shaban Tërstena - freestyle wrestler
North Macedonia Sports trivia
North Macedonia at major events
- North Macedonia at the Summer Olympics
- North Macedonia at the Winter Olympics
- North Macedonia at the FIFA World Cup
- North Macedonia at the UEFA Euros
Past sporting events events hosted in North Macedonia
- 2008 - the European Women's Handball Championship
Upcoming sporting events in North Macedonia
Annual sporting events held in North Macedonia
- Ohrid Swimming Marathon, Lake Ohrid
Sporting Facilities in North Macedonia
- Philip II Arena
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