An important factor in the success of SELAF was the presence of sponsors such as Lasta. The largest bus company in Serbia helped in the transport of teams from Serbia to Ljubljana and vice-versa, and in the words of Goran Topalović, one of Lasta’s executives, this company will remain with SELAF next season as well.
What brought Lasta and SELAF together?
Lasta is in sports for a long time now, because we feel it’s in our interest to help and because it’s beneficial to us in more ways than one. SELAF contacted us and we realized it would be good for Lasta to be present in a new sport here such as this one. In the future we will try to help the League and the Serbian national team as much as we can.
What’s interesting to us is the attendance. You see mostly young people there, and that’s a group that uses buses as means of transport.
How much do you follow football?
I followed NFL broadcasts on television. I watched the play; I don’t know who is good, which teams and players are among the better, but the game itself is interesting to me.
I attended Eurobowl this year in Austria and that was really something, with a packed stadium and great organization. Watching it in person is really a different feeling.
Do you think that in the near future it can be similar to that in SELAF?
The final at Radnički stadium in Belgrade said everything. The stadium was too small for everyone that wanted to watch, and also the VIP section was full of people that are helping the sport.
Better media coverage will help American football achieve better status.
How many SELAF games did you watch?
I watched all the games in Belgrade. There were nice performances, but also others not so good; I expected more from Ljubljana. The organization was always excellent especially considering the funds available.
Your opinion on this past season and your expectations for the next year?
The attendance was good in all cities, especially because a lot of matches were played at the same time as some of the other sports, and it was on average similar to the Serbian football league.
American football has a presence in the media and that is the way to make it even more popular. I expect the league to be even better next year.