North Macedonia men's national volleyball team explained

North Macedonia
Federation:OFM
Website:http://www.vfmkd.mk/
Confederation:CEV
Coach:Joshko Milenkovski
Regional Name:European Championship
Regional Cup Apps:3
Regional Cup First:2019
Regional Cup Best:16th (2023)
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The North Macedonia men's national volleyball team is the national volleyball team of North Macedonia. They are colloquially known as the Red Lions.

The team has participated in the European Championship since 2019.

History

The Macedonian Volleyball Federation was established in 1946, following the framework of the Macedonian Physical Culture Association. On 13 February 1949, the Macedonian Volleyball Federation became an independent sports organization. The Macedonian team qualified twice for the European Championship, in 2019 and in 2021. The national team also played in the European Championship for a third time in 2023, as they hosted the 2023 Men's European Volleyball Championship in the Boris Trajkovski Sports Center (BTSC) at Skopje, the national team's home ground.

Home ground

The Boris Trajkovski Sports Center (mk|Спортски центар Борис Трајковски), or BTSC, in Skopje is a multi-functional indoor sports arena. It is located in the Karpoš Municipality of Skopje, Macedonia. It is named after the former president, Boris Trajkovski. The sports center has a capacity of 10,000, and contains an Olympic-size swimming pool and the 5-star hotel Alexander Palace within the complex. The venue also contains four restaurants and a sports bar. Nearby, a water park and ice skating rink are accessible.

The arena is the home ground of the Macedonian volleyball team, both men and women. It was the venue for the European League three times in 2016, 2018 and 2022.

European League

The team has historically focused on competing in the European League, with the goal was of making a team for the European Championship Qualifiers that will be able to qualify for the European Volleyball Championship. This project was started in 2010 by the National Volleyball Federation in order to elevate the smaller sports, such as volleyball, to a higher level.

The national team has participated in eight European League tournaments. The strongest players of the team throughout this period have been the Georgiev brothers, Ljaftov and Madjunkov.

YearRoundPosition
2004did not participate
2013
2014Semifinals
2015Final
2016Final
2017Final
2018Silver League Semifinals16th
2019did not enter
2021Silver League Final13th
2022Silver League Semifinals14th
2023Golden League League Round11th
2024Golden League League Round10th
Total Participated: 9/10
Top tier (Golden League): 6/9

European Championship

1951(5),1955(5),1958(7),1963(7),1967(7)

1971(11),1975,1977(7),1979,1981(10)

1985(11),1987(8),1989(8),1991(6)

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17th place
23rd place
16th place

World Championship

1956(10),1962(8),1966(8),1970(10)

Olympic Games

1980 sixth place

Mediterranean Games

1963,1967,1971,1975,1979,1987 (4),1991

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7th place
9th place
9th place

Current team

Roster for the 2023 Men's European Volleyball Championship

Head coach: Joško Milenkoski
Assistant: Hari Nakovski
No.NamePositionHeight (cm)Birth year
Darko AngelovskiLibero180
Gjorgi GjorgievSetter197
Toshe EfremovOutside Spiker1932007
(C)Opposite196
Vlado MilevOutside-spiker195
Stojche ArsovOpposite196
Slave NakovMiddle-blocker194
Aleksandar LjaftovOutside-spiker198
Filip LepidovskiMiddle Blocker199
David StojanovSetter190
Filip DespotovskiSetter194
Eftim RichlievSetter187
Stefan AleksovOpposite195
Angel BoshkovOutside Spiker193
Filip MadjunkovMiddle-blocker199
Stojan IlievOutside-spiker190
Luka KostikOutside-spiker198
Vase MihailovOutside-spiker199
Kostadin RichlievLibero184
Filip SavovskiMiddle Blocker206
Ivan AndonovOpposite198
Risto NikolovMiddle Blocker202
Hristijan AndonovskiMiddle Blocker196
Filip NikolovskiLibero189

Macedonian players in notable squads

thumb|right|200px|Vladimir Bogoevski

1975 European Championship
1979 European Championship
1980 Olympic Games

External links