Global InformationFebruary Tournament information
 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.
- ^ "FK Velež obnavlja čuveni Februarski turnir". Bljesak.info. Retrieved 2023-02-10.