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Nemanja Mitrović, PhD
Institute for Contemporary History, Belgrade, Republic of Serbia

 

Nikola Mijatov, PhD
Institute for Contemporary History, Belgrade, Republic of Serbia

 

BALKAN CUP WITHIN THE IDEA OF SOCIALIST SPORT (1946–1980)

Vol. XLIV, 1/2026, pp. 187–206
https://doi.org/10.29362/ist20veka.2026.1.mit.187-206

 

ABSTRACT/RESUME:

The idea of ​​uni­fi­ca­ti­on and co­o­pe­ra­ti­on of the Bal­kan sta­tes to­ok its prac­ti­cal sha­pe in the form of the Bal­kan Cup. The first cups were or­ga­ni­sed in the in­terwar pe­ri­od, when they re­pre­sen­ted a form of co­o­pe­ra­ti­on between the ru­ling dyna­sti­es. Af­ter World War II, the Bal­kan Cup to­ok on a new form wit­hin the fra­mework of the idea of ​​so­ci­a­lism. The most in­ten­si­ve co­o­pe­ra­ti­on was in the pe­ri­od from 1945 to 1948, when three cups were organised. Du­ring that pe­ri­od, the par­ti­ci­pa­ting co­un­tri­es ga­ve mo­re im­por­tan­ce to this competi­ti­on than, for exam­ple, the Olympic Ga­mes or the World Cham­pi­ons­hips. Af­ter the con­flict between Yugo­sla­via and the Co­min­form, fo­ot­ball co­o­pe­ra­ti­on di­ed down, only to be re­newed in the 1970s. The com­pe­ti­ti­on even trans­cen­ded the bor­ders of so­ci­a­lism: Gre­e­ce and Tur­key al­so to­ok an equal part. The last cup en­ded in 1980, with so­me com­pe­ti­ti­ons con­ti­nu­ing un­til the mid-1990s. However, the cup’s im­por­tan­ce was gra­du­ally dec­li­ning sin­ce 1948, with world com­pe­ti­ti­ons ta­king over and the cup ser­ving mo­re as a warm-up for mo­re se­ri­o­us matches. Ove­rall, the Bal­kan Cup af­ter World War II had two di­men­si­ons: uni­ting the Bal­kan co­un­tri­es thro­ugh fo­ot­ball and or­ga­ni­zing a spe­ci­fic so­ci­a­list type of com­pe­ti­ti­on that was to be a co­un­ter­part to the world’s gre­at ca­pi­ta­list com­pe­ti­ti­ons. When the idea of ​​so­ci­a­lism collapsed with the fall of the Ber­lin Wall in 1989, the idea of ​​the Bal­kan Cup di­sap­pe­a­red with it.

 

KEYWORDS: Bal­kan cup, fo­ot­ball, so­ci­a­lism, sport, Yugo­sla­via

 

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