23.07.2025 19:47
The football club Novi Pazar, located in the city with the largest Muslim population in Serbia, will host Poland's Jagiellonia team tomorrow in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League, marking its first appearance in Europe in history.
The football club Novi Pazar, which has the largest Muslim population in Serbia, will host Poland's Jagiellonia team tomorrow in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League, marking its first appearance in Europe in history.
In the second qualifying round of the third-tier tournament of European club football, the Serbian representative will welcome the Polish team at the Novi Pazar City Stadium, which has a capacity of approximately 10,000, tomorrow at 20:00 local time. The away return match will be played on Thursday, July 31, in Wyszkow, Poland. If Novi Pazar advances, they will face the winner of the Silkeborg (Denmark) - Akureyri (Iceland) matchup in the third qualifying round.
FINISHED LAST SEASON IN 3RD PLACE
Novi Pazar finished the regular season in 8th place in the Serbian Super League, which featured 16 teams, and qualified for the championship round. In the championship round, among 8 teams, Novi Pazar finished 3rd behind last season's champion Red Star and second-placed Partizan, earning the right to compete in the UEFA Conference League.
83% OF THE CITY WITH A BOSNIAN MAJORITY IS MUSLIM
The city of Novi Pazar, where Bosniaks predominantly live, is the settlement with the highest Muslim population in Serbia, with approximately 83% of its population of around 106,000 being Muslim. In Serbia, where about 87% of the population is Christian, approximately 4% are Muslims. Of the 280,000 Muslim population in the country, about 90,000 live in the city of Novi Pazar.
OTTOMAN HERITAGE
During the Ottoman Empire, the city was the cultural capital of the Sanjak region throughout the Balkans. The Altun Alem Mosque, built in the 16th century, and the Emir Ağa Khan, dating from the 17th century, are located in the city. The Altun Alem Mosque was constructed in the first half of the 16th century during the Ottoman period, while one of the most important Ottoman works in Novi Pazar is the Emir Ağa Khan, built in the 17th century to host merchants coming to the city.
TEAM NAME CHANGED FROM SANCAK
The blue and white club representing the Muslim Bosniak-majority region in the Western Balkans was founded in 1928 under the name Sancak. The club, which changed its name to Dezeva, played under this name until 1962, after which it merged with Ras Club and changed its name to Novi Pazar.