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Gradski's current conditions |
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The News -
News and Information
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Written by Darko Jankulovski
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Friday, 07 March 2008 |
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 Work is well under way on the Gradski Stadium in Skopje. AD 'Beton' - the company authorized for the construction of the new look has removed the old floodlights.
Without floodlights only matches on daylight can be played. Despite initial wish by Katanec, the matches to be played at night, the company refused that and removed the floodlights. A lot of talks are now ongoing, whether the matches against Scotland on 6th of September and Netherlands on 10th of September (World Cup 2010 Qualification tournament) will be played in Skopje, or an alternative solution should be searched. As other options, Prilep and Strumica are already mentioned by the media, but they must be excluded because the stadiums in those cities don't meet the minimum FIFA requirements. Towards the end of this month a supervisor from FIFA should come to check the conditions and confirm whether Gradski meets the criteria. If, by chance, a negative opinion is given, the football federation of Macedonia might even have to search for a solution outside the country, Belgrad of Sofia e.g. This will become a real problem, having in mind that the fans of Scotland or the 'Tartan Army' as it is widely known, have already booked flights and accomodation for Skopje. Providing a positive answer, than the games should start no later than 18.00 CET on the mentioned dates, a fact that will most certainly bring lower prices for the TV rights. |
