Variant of the tournament's logo, used from the mid-1970s onwards
Founded
1965-1992 (original) 2023 (revival)
Number of teams
4
Current champions
Velež Mostar (17th title)[a]
Most successful club(s)
Velež Mostar (17 titles)[a]
The February Tournament (Bosnian-Herzegovinian: Februarski turnir/Фебруарски турнир) is a preseason invitational tournament organized by the city of Mostar and the Velež Mostar football club that was held every year between 1965 and 1992, with a new edition starting in 2023. Although its official name was the Football Tournament in Mostar (Fudbalski turnir u Mostaru/Фудбалски турнир у Мостару), it quickly became known as the February Tournament and less frequently Velež's Tournament[1] due to the fact that it was organized by Velež and always held in February for symbolic reasons. After reviving the tournament in 2023, the new official name was the Traditional Football Tournament: "FK Velež - February 14" (Tradicionalni fudbalski turnir: "FK Velež - 14. februar").
Yugoslavia's football league system at the time, like most other Eastern European nations allowed for a longer break between the first half of the season (held in the fall) and the second (held in the spring), with the February Tournament being held roughly before the start of the second half of the season. It was also the oldest invitational tournament in Yugoslavia, with other notable tournaments such as the Trofej Marjana in Split (first held in 1974) and a tournament in Titograd (first held in 1971) coming later. These factors turned it into of the most prestigious pre-season tournaments in Yugoslavia, with the most successful clubs from the country regularly making appearances, as well as various foreign teams on occasion.[2][3]
28 editions of the tournaments were held, but only 26 with a definite winner at the end. In 1966, instead of a tournament 5 various teams played exhibition matches, and in 1979 the tournament was cancelled midway through because Edvard Kardelj, one of Yugoslavia's leading politicians at the time passed away due to colon cancer.[4] Velež Mostar were the most victorious side in the tournament, going on to win it 15 times. The second most successful teams were FK Partizan Belgrade and FK Željezničar Sarajevo, winning three times each. Five other teams won once each. Dušan Bajević holds the record of both making the most appearances, as well as the most goals scored in the tournament's history.
The tournament in its original state was last held in 1992, after which the Bosnian War started, and as a result Velež was no longer able to play on the Bijeli Brijeg stadium which had hosted every edition up until that point. There were multiple attempts to revive the tournament, however they were rendered impossible due to financial and technical aspects the club was facing decades after the war. Despite this, in 2023, the club officially brought the tournament back with U-19 youth teams, with hopes to return to senior teams as soon as possible.[5]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^Miladinović, Dragan (17 February 1975). "Vladić najbolji igrač, Bajević prvi strijelac". Slobodna Dalmacija. p. 8.
^"FELJTON: Sarajevo na Februarskom turniru (1971. godina)". www.bordovremeplov.ba. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
^www.scsport.ba, Sport Centar- (23 January 2021). "Kako su se bh. klubovi pripremali prije 50 godina: Mostarski turnir umjesto Antalije". Sport Centar. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
^"Sjećanje na Februarski turnir povodom obilježavanja Dana oslobođenja Mostara". FK Velež Mostar (in Bosnian). 2020-02-19. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
The FebruaryTournament (Bosnian-Herzegovinian: Februarski turnir/Фебруарски турнир) is a preseason invitational tournament organized by the city of Mostar...
Candidates Tournament was an eight-player chess tournament, held to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2024. The tournament took place...
with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament. The tournament is one of the world's most viewed sporting events and considered...
Championship and informally the Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition...
professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held in late January/early February at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. The tournament was originally...
state single-game record with 13 three-pointers. On February 25, Clark set the Class 5A state tournament single-game scoring record with 42 points in a 75–70...
International Tournament (known as the Rothmans Tournament for sponsorship reasons) was the tenth edition of the Malta International Tournament. The tournament, held...
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major golf championships...
England and the Scottish Lord of the Isles. 1503 – Challenge of Barletta: Tournament between 13 Italian and 13 French knights near Barletta. 1542 – Catherine...
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either...
first golden goal in the history of the tournament, securing Germany's third European title 2–1. The 2000 tournament was also decided by a golden goal. France...
associations. Germany hosts the tournament, which is taking place from 14 June 2024 to 14 July 2024. The tournament comprises 24 teams, with Georgia...
the sport's global governing body. The tournament has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, with the exception of 1942 and...
In the United States' opening match of the tournament, against Uganda, he scored 107 runs. In February 2019, he was named in the United States Twenty20...
Masters Tournament was the 88th edition of the Masters Tournament and the first of the men's four major golf championships held in 2024. The tournament was...
major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and venue are...
February 16 is the 47th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 318 days remain until the end of the year (319 in leap years). 1249 – Andrew of Longjumeau...
participate in the tournament. Indoor volleyball competitions will occur at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles with the beach volleyball tournament staged at the...
Autumn (November) tournament is held annually at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Spring (February) tournament is held annually...
game. There are currently five post-tournament awards, and one given during the tournament: the Player of the Tournament for best player, first awarded in...
is a National Basketball Association (NBA) tournament which occurs during the regular season. The tournament was officially announced on July 8, 2023,...
women's tennis tournaments. Criteria for inclusion: The tournament is notable enough to have its own article on Wikipedia Historic tournaments are included...
The King of the Ring tournament is a men's professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held periodically by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional...
Global Information