Gray city, dilapidated stadium » What Zenica looks like, the city that is still recovering from the war 30 years ago

The fourth city of Bosnia, according to the number of inhabitants (110,000), Zenica is located on the river Bosna, being throughout history under Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian occupation. While during the Yugoslavia period it was an important industrial center, remnants of those times being visible even today, the city today is based on the ArcelorMittal steel plant, of the company that in the past also invested in Galati.

Torn by the 1990s war in the former Yugoslavia, the city is struggling to recover from the tragic events, even though it was among the first cities to begin economic reconstruction after the 1995 peace accord.

The Zenica massacre, from 1993

One of the darkest moments of the war, called the “Zenica Massacre”, is connected to the city of Zenica. At the beginning of the war, Zenica was considered an important center of Bosnian resistance, often being the target of Serbian attacks.

The worst moment occurred on April 19, 1993 when several shells hit a market in the center of the city at lunchtime, killing 16 people and seriously injuring 50 others. And many buildings in the area were damaged or destroyed.

Subsequent investigations by Bosnian authorities and UN observers attributed the attack to HVO artillery, i.e. Bosnian Croat forces, located near the town, which reportedly fired 6 shells at the town. In response, Bosnian Croat forces denied the allegations.

Later, the city began to be rebuilt, and in 2000 the University of Zenica was also established. Now it is considered a multi-ethnic city. Bosnian Muslims are the majority, but Croats and Serbs are also present, in smaller numbers.

PHOTO. What does the Zenica stadium look like, where Bosnia and Romania will play

For the fourth time, Romania will play at the “Bilino Polje” stadium, the arena where the Bosnian national team plays its home matches. Gazeta Sporturilor visited the stadium in the center of Zenica, which is not in the best condition.

• Bosnia – Romania, the penultimate match of the WC 2026 preliminaries, will be played on Saturday, November 15, from 21:45.
• The Zenica duel will be liveTEXT on GSP.ro, with real-time information from Gazeta Sporturilor reporters present at the stadium, and live on Prima TV

Built between blocks of flats and near a church in 1972 and undergoing a series of upgrades to meet UEFA standards, Zenica's stadium seems a far cry from Europe's modern arenas. It is even more worn than the arena in Sarajevo, but the national team of Bosnia prefers to play its home games in Zenica. It's also a kind of local superstition, because Bosnia, since 1996, has hardly lost at this stadium.

Used by the local team, NK Celik Zenica, the stadium was partially damaged by the Bosnian war in the 1990s. However, it was rebuilt and reopened in the 2000s, and in 2012 underwent an upgrade to meet the standards required by UEFA. With the passage of time, no more work took place at the stadium, and today it is not in the best condition.

Many of the seats in the stadium are dilapidated, many areas are not landscaped, and there is rust and trash in some parts of the stadium. And outside the stadium is a sight that you don't see very often: there are all kinds of shops, not related to football, around the arena.

Even the turf will not be in optimal conditions, the state of the field having all the chances to decisively influence the pace and manner of the game.

Stands close to the field

The stadium is small, with only 14,000 seats. And it has a huge advantage for the hosts. It does not have a running track, which means that the stands are right next to the grass. So the fans can create an oppressive atmosphere for the opponents and apply pressure in a decisive way.

I read that there are some problems between the fans and the Federation, but I think they will be resolved by the time of the match. And the fans will come in large numbers to support the team. The national team needs peace and support, so I think these misunderstandings will be overcome. I don't think the ultras won't come to the game. Anyway, Zenica is a city close to football. There will be supporters in the stands. There will be pressure on both teams with Bosnia hoping to finish top. There will be pressure also because the stands are close to the pitch.

– Boris Keca, former Bosnian footballer and current second coach at CS Dinamo