The tragedy that struck Macedonia yesterday morning (March 16th at 3 a.m.), echoed throughout the world. A fire in a disco club in the town of Kochani killed 59 people and injured over 150. The more seriously injured patients were initially transported to neighboring countries Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and a small number also to Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Austria.

photo by volimpartizan.rs

Several individuals and organizations, including former and current athletes, offered assistance to the injured and their families.
The first athlete to publicly offer assistance to the families of the injured who were transported to Belgrade for treatment yesterday, was the former member of the Macedonian national football team who was born and lives in Serbia, Milan Stojanoski. Through his former teammate from the national team, Panche Kjumbev, he left a personal contact and offered accommodation and any additional assistance to all family members of the patients deployed in several hospitals in Belgrade.

This is a huge human gesture from our former international player who shows that he does not forget his roots and that in addition to being a great football player, he is also a great human being.

Milan Stojanoski was born and raised in Serbia, but on his father’s side he is originally from the village of Rechica, Ohrid. In his career, he played for several clubs in Serbia, Israel, Cyprus and Iran and is one of the few Macedonian footballers who have played in the UEFA Champions League (with Partizan in the 2003/04 season). At the international level, he decided to represent Macedonia, and he had 27 appearances and 1 goal scored in the Macedonian jersey.

After finishing his football career, he continued to work as a professional football coach in several clubs in Serbia. He is currently without a professional engagement.