FK ŽELJEZNIČAR 1921
Outstanding Sports Investment Opportunity
April, 2014
FK Željezničar | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo
The Opportunity
The opportunity

Potential investors are being presented with an unique opportunity to invest into the most
successful football club in Bosnia and Herzegovina (“BiH”) and historically one of the most
successful in the Balkans region, FK Željezničar (“Željezničar” or “the Club” or “Željo”).
Investment highlights

Brand recognition, history and experience: FK Željezničar exists since 1921. It has
outlived number of armed conflicts. Due to the love and support of the community and its
supporters the Club is today recognised brand across different generations, regions and
demographics.

Talent base: Throughout its history FK Željezničar youth development program has
produced players that have left footprint on a regional and European football scene (e.g. five
players from the current Bosnian National Team which will play at the 2014 World Cup in
Brasil and play in some of the best European leagues started their career in FK Željezničar).
Thus, the Club has proven history in high-quality work with the youth and possibility of
setting up football academy enabling youth and talent development and further cooperation
with FK Željezničar represents an opportunity.

Fans: Substantial supporter base is mainly from Sarajevo and surrounding areas. Organised
smaller groups exists in number of other cities across Bosnia and Herzegovina and
internationally (Bosnian Diaspora). The biggest and the most devoted fan base in BiH and
amongst the biggest in the Balkans region.

Development: Even under current strained financial structure, the Club continuously
succeeds in producing young talent and has won national Championships in the three of the
last four years, thus also qualifying to the Champions League initial stages. This provides
excellent platform for further development and advancement to higher stages of Champions
League/Europe League in the case of improved financial structure.

Stadium: In addition, there is an opportunity to develop stadium in a central location in the
Sarajevo City on a freehold land owned by the Club and leave unprecedented mark in the
regional and local community.

Other cash generating capacities: Numerous additional development angles are available
to implement at a low cost to increase revenue.

Current financial performance: In 2013, the total revenue amounted to EUR 1 milion (2012:
1.5 milion).
Sarajevo
The strategic direction to seek for a reputable
investor by FK Zeljeznicar is mainly to increase its
competitiveness to the international level. To
achieve that, the following investments are
required:
1) Development of practice facilities for Youth
program
2) Development of Stadium and supporting
infrastructure
FK Željezničar | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo
The Opportunity – Investor’s perspective
■ Comparatively speaking, investment into FK Željezničar may be regarded as low compared to the other
European available options. At the same time financial benefits accruing from increase in the value of
the players, premiums for competing at the European level, monetising on other aspects of operations
can be substantial and outweigh the risk of the investment.

Capturing on “Know How”
■ As indicated elsewhere in the document this may be a unique opportunity for a foreign investor to
capture on some of the successful practices in attracting, developing and retaining talent. On the other
hand, the Club could substantially benefit by adopting some of the best practices in managing sport
organisation.

Benefits of first mover
advantage and becoming a
regional centre.
■ Given the favourable geographical position and multiethnic heritage, FK Zeljeznicar can easily
become a regional centre for talent development in Balkans region (population of some cc. 20
mil. people).

Real Estate
■ An investment provides a solid mix of intangibles (described above) and tangibles (land and
stadiums) where any of the desired development concepts can be considered. Further, there
is a strong support by a local and state government committed to provide any assistance and
support required in development of infrastructure.

Return on Investment
(Cost vs. Benefits)
FK Željezničar has developed a number of investment concepts. However, it will
be willing to consider any proposed model from a qualified investor. Further
information will be available upon formal expression of interest.
FK Željezničar | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo
Glance at Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina

BiH has been enjoying a growing reputation as a football nation with
much of that success being attributable to the national team
qualifying to the World Cup 2014 in Brazil. This was not an isolated
event: Bosnian football teams are more and more successful in
European competitions, Bosnian youth teams are increasing their
wining ratios and Bosnian-origin players in diaspora are selecting
Bosnia as their national team. In addition, impressive football results
also had a spill-over effects on other sports (e.g. basketball,
handball etc).

Culturally, there is a strong identification with the Bosnian athletes
which have made successful international careers

As an emerging and developing European country with prospects for
EU integration, Bosnian economy has strong ties to European Union
and the rest of the Balkans region, which creates good potential for
further economic growth.
Bosnia and Herzegovina (continued)

The country has great potential in particular in tourism and energy
sectors.

Potential for increased general export competitiveness is still high.

On-going public investment in infrastructure are expected to
contribute to increased economic activity.

Much of the sports infrastructure in the country was destroyed in the
war in the 90’s, with large reconstruction needs still pending. Many
stadiums in BiH are ageing and require rehabilitation / renovation.
3-4%
Is annual rate at which
Bosnian real GDP is
expected to grow in medium
– term according to the IMF
projections.
FK Željezničar | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo
Glance at the City of Sarajevo
Sarajevo is becoming an established tourist destination, offering a rich
history . “Sarajevo, place where East meets West”
10.8%
Is an average annual increase of total
visitors to Sarajevo over the past number of
years, a trend which is expected to continue
in the future according to Tourist bureau of
Sarajevo Canton.
FK Željezničar | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo
Football players with BiH origin fall within top class accross the Europe
Eur 178 mil
Market value of selection of
players with the Bosnian origin
according to Trasfermarkt.de.
11
6
As illustrated, some of the best players across the
Europe originated from BiH.
10
7
8
9
This can be concidered as a strong business case
for investing in football teams and infrastructure in
order to support the early development of Bosnian
football players.
Illustative exam ple of high profile players w ith Bosnian origin
Club
#
2
3
4
1
5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Nam e
(abreviated)
League
S. Handanovic
Inter
D. Lovren
Southampton
N. Subotic
B. Dortmund
V. Corluka
Lokomotiv
J. Ilicic
Florenz
M. Marin
Sevilla
A. Halilovic
Dinamo
M. Pjanic
Roma
I. Rakitic
Sevilla
E. Dzeko
MCS
Z. Ibrahimovic
PSG
-
Italy
UK
Germany
Russia
Italy
Spain
Croatia
Italy
Spain
UK
France
Source: Transf ermarkt.de
National Place of birth
team
or origin
Market
Value
In EUR'm il
Slovenia
BiH Roots
Croatia
Zenica, BiH
Serbia Banja Luka, BiH
Croatia Derventa, BiH
Slovenia
Prijedor, BiH
Germany B. Gradiska, BiH
Croatia
BIH Roots
BiH
Tuzla, BiH
Croatia
Zepce, BiH
BiH Sarajevo, BiH
Sw eden
Bijeljina, BiH
-
24
12
20
10
8
5
6,5
20
20
24
28
178
FK Željezničar | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo
Football players with BiH origin fall within top class accross the Europe
And, historically, it has been that way………
6
11
10
7
8
9
Illustative exam ple of form er players w ith Bosnian origin
(abreviated)
League
National
team
Origin
E. Maric
Schalke 04
R. Sabanadovic AEK Athens
S. Barbarez
Hamburger
B. Sliskovic
Marseille
F. Hadzibegic
Sochaux
D. Bajevic
AEK Athens
M. Bazdarevic
Sochaux
S. Susic
PSG
H. Salihamidzic
Bayern
M. Kodro
Barcelona
V. Halilhodzic
PSG
Germany
Greece
Germany
France
France
Greece
France
France
Germany
Spain
France
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
BiH
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
BiH
BiH
Yugoslavia
BiH
BiH
BiH
BiH
BiH
BiH
BiH
BiH
BiH
BiH
BiH
Club
#
2
3
4
1
5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Nam e
FK Željezničar | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo
About FK Željezničar
FK Željezničar – Fact sheet
Legal status: The Club, Non for profit
organisation registered under the laws of
Bosnia and Herzegovina (“BiH”)
Year of establishment: 19 September
1921.
Stadium: Grbavica stadium (in ownership),
current capacity 12,000
League: Premiere League in BiH.
League titles: Former Yugoslavia: 1972,
BiH: 1998, 2001, 2002, 2010, 2012, 2013.
Cup titles: Former Yugoslavia: runner up
1981
BiH: 2000, 2001, 2003, 2011, 2012.
European Championships : UEFA CUP
semi-final 1985
Fan base: unoficial estimate: 100,000
“Željo is life philosophy. It is not only football, it is a way of living and
behaving. For me it about sitting on the Malta bridge, talk about
everything and then go for a drink. Željo always had a meaning of
something that connects wonderful people who help each other ”
IVICA OSIM
Former FK Željezničar football player and Coach.
Also coached national teams of former Yugoslavia
and Japan, as well as the number of other
international clubs.
FK Željezničar | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo
About FK Željezničar – Youth program
Youth Program

FK Željezničar’s youth program is
amongst the best in the BiH,
measured by the number of players
having an international and national
football career, one of them being
Edin Dzeko., leading star of the
Bosnia n national team and the
player of Manchester City in the
English Premiere League.

The program has grown over 10%,
over the past few years, mainly on
the back of the success of the first
team.
65
Number of kids under
the age of 8,9 and 10
110
Number of kids under
the age of 11,12 and
13
As currently set-up
Zeljo’s football program
covers only greater
Sarajevo areas (i.e. 9
Sarajevo municipalities,
a population of some
400 thousand).
162
Number of kids under
the age of 14,15 and
16
112
Under 18’s
FK Željezničar | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo
About FK Željezničar – Youth program (Continued)
Youth Program
 Extract of some of the active players from FK Željezničar Academy and their market
Eur 34,6 mil
value according to Transfermarkt.de:
#
Name
Current club
Market value in
EUR’000
1
EDIN DŽEKO
Manchester City
24,000
2
EDIN VIŠĆA
Istanbul BB
2,500
3
ERVIN ZUKANOVIĆ
KAA Gent
2,000
4
AVDIJA VRŠAJEVIĆ
HNK Hajduk
2,000
5
EDIN COCALIĆ
Maccabi Haifa
1,000
6
SEMIR ŠTILIĆ
Wisla Krakau
1,000
7
KENAN HASAGIĆ
Vereinslos
800
8
IBRAHIM ŠEHIĆ
Qarabag Agdam
600
MUAMER SVRAKA
FK Željezničar
500
ARMIN HODŽIĆ
FK Željezničar
225
9
10
¸Today’s market value of selected
players originated from Zeljo’s
academy.
22%
of expected BiH players in the
World Cup originated from Zeljo’s
football academy.
Frequently also on the roster for national team
Equally important are Zeljo’s alumni
players
which
have
made
successful international careers.
List of those players is quite
comprehensive.
FK Željezničar | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo
About FK Željezničar – The Investment concept
The Investment Concept
 The investment concept envisages
rolling out Zeljo football academy in
five different cities across the BiH
under the standardised level of
quality of work.
 Ultimately, the goals are twofold:
 1) to prevent, to the extent possible,
future talent leaving at an early
stage
 2) To financially benefit from the
talent development at a future date
from transfer fees.
 The Investment, in total, has been
assessed at cost of EUR 2 – 3
milion: with the possibility to
implement project in stages.
FK Željezničar | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo
About FK Željezničar – The Stadium concept

Under the existing operating model the Club is missing on the
number of revenue streams, namely: naming rights,
concession revenue, parking fees and rental fees and
additional entrainment event hosting.

In addition, number of additional areas remained fully
unexploited (e.g. commissions from the sale of sports
uniforms, authors rights, TV Broadcasting fees which remain
at the low level etc.

Executive Board of Željezničar comprises of successful
business people from some of the most successful local and
and international companies who are die-hard Željo fans.
This ensures availability of the expertise of all the relevant
business procedures and business connections for a potential
investor.

45 thousand
sqm
Sqm of land under the stadium and its
surroundings is located in the very urban part of
Sarajevo City.
14,000
Average number of
supporters for European
Competition games over the
past three years.
FK Željezničar | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo
About FK Željezničar – The Stadium concept (Continued)

One of the investment angles is the
stadium development.

Number of available concepts
exists and any shortfall in
comercial feasibility of the
development may be subsidies via
number of available alternatives
(e.g. Government grants, UEFA /
FIFA funds, EU Funds etc.) .

Consideration would be given to
renaming the stadium as:
“Grbavica – name of the partner”.
As usual, this is subject to
obtaining all the relevant internal
approvals.
Unique emotional ties to Željo are a characteristic of both Željo fans and players.
This is, for example, exhibited in the recent UK interviews of Edin Dzeko, the biggest star of the
Bosnian national team and Manchester City player, who started his career in Željo.
“It is not said without the reason that Željo is more than just the football.”
FK Željezničar | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo

NEXT STEPS

If you find this opportunity interesting we would be very honoured to invite you to visit us in
Sarajevo and discuss potential ideas to see whether we can find any common interest in
this respect.

FK Zeljeznicar’s contact detals are given below.
FK Željezničar
Zvornička 27
71000 Sarajevo
Bosnia i Herzegovina
Almir Gredić
Mirsad Šiljak
President of the Club
Director of the Club
Tel: +387 61 173 768
Tel: +387 61 144 503
almir.gredic@unicreditgroup.ba
director@fkzelljeznicar.com
Disclaimer
This document was prepared in April 2014. All information in this document is provided as a general outline only for the guidance of intending purchasers and constitutes neither the whole
nor any part of an offer or contract; (ii) all descriptions, dimensions, references to condition, financial information and necessary permissions for use and occupation and other details may
be summary and may have been provided by third parties but are given in good faith and are believed to be correct, but any intending purchasers should not rely on them as statements or
representations of fact but should satisfy themselves by searches, enquiries, surveys and inspections or otherwise as to the correctness of each of them.