Serbia uses football to score geopolitical goals in former Yugoslavia

Aleksandar Vučić's government uses football to achieve political goals. Since 2019, state-owned Telekom Srbija has bought up rights to the world's top sports competitions through its subsidiary, Arena Sport. Arena Sports is available in all six former Yugoslavia countries.

Serbia uses football to score geopolitical goals in former Yugoslavia. The Serbian state broadcaster spends hundreds of millions of euros on sport broadcasting rights.

Professor Marko Milosavljević and Mijat LakićevIć are critical of the deal Telekom Srbija made with Serbia Broadband. They think it's a move to harm the privately-owned United Group, whose cable operator SerbiaBroadband broadcasts government-critical TV channels. A Balkan Free Media Initiative found that Teleksom is being used to “manipulate the commercial market” and ‘strengthen state control over private media outlets’

Milosavljević thinks the investment is a way to position Telekom Srbija as a significant player in the region and increase Serbia's soft power. Teleksom will likely demand the purchase of other programs and the Euronews Serbia channel. European Commission noted that political and economic influence over the media continues to be a source of concern. Serbia uses football to score geopolitical goals in former Yugoslavia. The European Union has warned that football is an important tool for geopolitical purposes.

Serbia uses football to score geopolitical goals in former Yugoslavia.