Dejan Jakimovski elected president of the FFM Referees Committee
FFM’s executive board elected Dejan Jakimovski as chairman of the Referees Committee; additional decisions include pitch reconstruction in Bitola and higher appeal fees.
The Board of the Football Federation of North Macedonia (FFM) on 9 September 2026 elected Dejan Jakimovski as the new president of the FFM Referees Committee, replacing Emil Bozhinovski. Bozhinovski stepped down from the chairmanship for personal reasons but will remain part of the federation's refereeing body and continue contributing his long experience to the development of refereeing in Macedonian football.
Jakimovski is well known in the domestic football community as a former referee with numerous matches officiated in the national championship.
Other Executive Board decisions
The Board approved a request for support and a donation for the reconstruction and upgrade of the auxiliary artificial-turf pitch named "Kumurno pitch" in Bitola. The support covers replacement of the artificial turf, renovation of the substrate and necessary infrastructure to improve conditions for youth training.
The Executive Board accepted a proposal from the Disciplinary Commission to change appeal fees to the Second Instance Commission for Appeals and Complaints: the fee for natural persons is increased from 100 to 200 euros, and for legal entities from 200 to 500 euros, paid in denar equivalent.
The Board also approved the organization of the Children's Leagues for the 2026/2027 competitive season through newly established football regions. Activities for the Children's Leagues will be integrated into the Grassroots programme 2024–2028, creating a single, more organised framework for youth football development.
For the 2026/2027 season, the programme will use €160,000 secured through UEFA Hat-trick together with expected participation fees for the Children's Leagues. This brings the total budget for youth football development under the Grassroots programme to more than €230,000. The funds are intended for concrete measures to increase the number of children involved in football, improve training and competition conditions, and support long-term sustainable development across all football regions.
Earlier, Aleksandar Tanevski was appointed as the new head coach of North Macedonia's under-21 national team.
Photo: press material from the event
