Zoran Zaev assured Greece that the Macedonian national football team playing at the European championship represents “North Macedonia” and not Macedonia. Greek press pressed Zaev on the issue after Greece formally protested the fact that the Football Federation of Macedonia hasn’t changed its name and used the FFM abbreviation in the official team jerseys.

The whole of Europe knows that our football team represents “North Macedonia”. Even if the Federation is not a public entity, the national team is. It should be clear to all that this is the team of “North Macedonia”, regardless of the initials on the jersey. We raised the specific issue with the Federation and we will resolve it soon in accordance with the Prespa Treaty and UEFA traditions, Zaev promised.

He is in a long standing feud with FFM head Muamed Sejdini, who protested to the UEFA that Zaev is trying to replace him and seize the financial resources of the Federation. Sejdini said, and the Macedonian Foreign Ministry initially agreed, that because FFM does not take in public funds, it is not under obligation to use the imposed name “North Macedonia”.