The Macedonian second league is left with one club less after Pobeda from Prilep announced today that it is withdrawing from further competition due to financial problems.
photo by FK Pobeda Prilep
Prilep, a city with over 63 thousand inhabitants, which was previously said to be the most football-loving city in Macedonia, is left without football in the first two Macedonian leagues after Pobeda announced today that it is withdrawing from further competition in the rest of the season in the second league.
Pobeda was seen by most football fans as already relegated anyway, as with 11 points they are in 13th place, in the relegation zone, with 6 points behind the places leading in the playoffs. The team has been playing mainly with youngsters since the beginning of the season, as the lack of finances did not allow for the hiring of serious reinforcements.
The original communication letter from the club (click to enlarge)
“Let’s clarify the current situation in our club. In April 2025, there was a change in the majority shareholder of our club. The new majority shareholder is of the opinion that he does not want to run the club, so at the only legitimate and legal shareholders’ meeting, he did not appoint persons who would manage the club and did not appoint an executive director.
Before the start of the new competition season, in August, a joint solution was sought with the mayor and the Municipality of Prilep, so due to the short time period for action, a temporary solution was adopted and a responsible person was appointed in order for the club to continue to function until a long-term solution was to be found. The Council of the Municipality of Prilep voted on a decision to grant one-time financial assistance in the amount of 1,000,000.00 denars, which was not paid due to the announcement of the local elections, and it has not been paid to date, which was also a condition for the club to compete in the 2025/2026 season in the 2.MFL.
At this moment, the club has a blocked account and is in an extremely desperate financial situation, which is why we inform the public that the senior team of FK Pobeda Prilep is unable to continue competing in the Macedonian second league.”
The Municipality of Prilip responded to the accusations, revealing alarming financial irreguilaties of the current Pobeda board and accusing them that they duid not want to resolve the problems and only made the debts worse.
“As an institution that is always dedicated to supporting local sports brands, we would like to inform the public that the Municipality has not stopped taking actions to save the club at any point, but in that process has faced a serious and continuous lack of cooperation from the majority owners. Although the local government has repeatedly initiated a dialogue to find a long-term solution, the ownership structure has not shown a willingness to act together, refusing to appoint legitimate management bodies and an executive director, which has practically brought the club to a state of functional paralysis.
Despite this attitude, the Municipality of Prilep showed a sincere desire to help by making a decision for one-time financial support in the amount of 1,000,000.00 denars. However, its implementation was legally impossible, initially due to the announcement of the election process, and then due to the alarming situation with the blocked account of the club, which is the result of many years of uneconomical work. The official documentation that we can see reveals a devastating total debt to the Public Revenue Office in the amount of over 7,000,000.00 denars, which includes unpaid contributions for employees in the amount of 496,636.00 denars, unpaid VAT of 410,606.00 denars, a debt for profit tax of 2,167,762.00 denars and personal tax in the amount of 1,986,538.00 denars. This is a debt only to the PRO, we cannot assume what the debt is to other private and state entities. The payment of funds from the Municipality of Prilep certainly could not have been used for the club, but would have ended up in paying off some debts of the company that owns the club Pobeda.
The Municipality must not and will not allow citizens’ budget funds to end up as an accomplice in covering such debts, especially after the revelations that the club’s official funds were spent for non-purpose payments to casinos, betting shops and private needs. With the current ownership structure, where private capital owns a complete majority of the shares, the responsibility for the financial collapse and the legal vacuum lies solely with the owners who chose passivity instead of cooperation with the city.”
Pobeda this winter did not begin preparations for the second half season and did not play a single friendly match, which was a sure sign that something bad was brewing.
The second league season continues on 21 February, and due to the withdrawal of Pobeda, one team will be idle in each round, starting with Novaci, who will not travel to Prilep.
This Pobeda club was formed on 14 May 2010 after the original Pobeda received an 8-year ban from competition from FIFA due to match-fixing in the Champions League qualifiers against the Armenian side Pyunik. Initially formed under the name Viktoria, it was quickly renamed Pobeda Junior, and later became just Pobeda. The suspended Pobeda attempted to return after the eight years, but asked FFM to continue in the top flight, while FFM said that it should start in the local fourth division, after which it gave up.