Nikos Kotzias, former Greek Foreign Minister and signatory to the Prespa Agreement, called on the Greek government to press the “Football Federation of Macedonia” to change its name, because if “North Macedonia” did not exist as a state, the national football team would not play at the European Championship.

I suggest all responsible people in Macedonia to read carefully paragraph [3].of the first article of the Prespa Agreement [1.3.]. It was clearly agreed that the name North Macedonia is mandatory for every institution of the friendly country, if there are a number of reasons, one of which is when it is related to the state and public entities, he said.

We know that the Football Federations are independent associations. But these operate on the basis of national sports laws in each country. Maybe at the European Football Championship in 2020, it is represented by the football team of their Federation, but this Federation is not without a homeland, it does not work outside that place and time. It is a football federation of a particular country and is affiliated with it. Therefore, the Football Federation is related to the state of North Macedonia, and not to a third party. Nor is it a Federation of a stateless country. Besides, without the state of North Macedonia, it would not have participated in the European Championship. However, the Football Federation of Macedonia is not a protected brand as some people claim. Instead, from this point of view, it is part of the provisions for mandatory entry of “country of origin”, writes Kotzias.