Wikipedia

North Macedonia men's national volleyball team

The North Macedonia men's national volleyball team is the national volleyball team of North Macedonia. They are colloquially known as the Red Lions.

North Macedonia
AssociationOFM
ConfederationCEV
Head coachJoshko Milenkovski
FIVB ranking41 (as of 10 July 2024)
Uniforms
Home
Away
Third
European Championship
Appearances3 (First in 2019)
Best result16th (2023)
http://www.vfmkd.mk/
North Macedonia men's national volleyball team
Medal record
European Volleyball League
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Europe
Silver medal – second place 2015 Poland
Silver medal – second place 2016 Macedonia
Silver medal – second place 2017 Denmark
Silver medal – second place 2021 Macedonia
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Hungary

The team has participated in the European Championship since 2019.

History

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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.

  • CEV Eurovolley 2019: The Macedonian national team performed favorably at the European Championship in 2019. In Ljubljana Stozice Area, the home ground of the Group C team, they beat the Belarusian national team with a score of 3-1 (23-25), (25-19), (29-27), (25-20). They won against the hosts of the Group C team, Slovenia, by a score of 3-1 (26-24), (30-28), (19-25), (26-24). The Macedonian team finished 17th with a score of 2-3.
  • CEV Eurovolley 2021: The national team failed to win any games in this event.
  • CEV Eurovolley 2023: The Red Lions were the host of Pool C, and Skopje's Boris Trajkovski Sports Center was the venue. In the opening match, the Macedonian team beat Denmark by a score of 3-1 (22-25), (25-22), (25-19), (25-22). Two days later, the national team won against Montenegro with a score of 3-0 (25-22), (25-18), (25-20). The Red Lions qualified for the top 16, but lost to the Italian men's national volleyball team. In the end, the Red Lions finished 16th.

Home ground

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The Boris Trajkovski Sports Center in Skopje

The Boris Trajkovski Sports Center (Macedonian: 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

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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.

Year Round Position Pld W L SW SL
  2004 did not participate
–
  2013
  2014 Semifinals  
  2015 Final  
  2016 Final  
  2017 Final  
  2018 Silver League Semifinals 16th
  2019 did not enter
  2021 Silver League Final 13th
  2022 Silver League Semifinals 14th
  2023 Golden League League Round 11th
  2024 Golden League League Round 10th
Total Participated: 9/10
Top tier (Golden League): 6/9

European Championship

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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)
Year Position Pld W L
  2019 17th place
  2021 23rd place
    2023 16th place

World Championship

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1956(10),1962(8),1966(8),1970(10)
  • Macedonia   1991-2022 didn't qualify

Olympic Games

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1980 sixth place
  • Macedonia   1992-2020 didn't qualify

Mediterranean Games

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1963   ,1967   ,1971   ,1975   ,1979   ,1987 (4) ,1991  
Year Position Pld W L
  2013 7th place
  2018 9th place
  2022 9th place

Current team

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Roster for the 2023 Men's European Volleyball Championship

Head coach: Joško Milenkoski
Assistant: Hari Nakovski
No. Name Position Height (cm) Birth year
1 Darko Angelovski Libero 180 1994
2 Gjorgi Gjorgiev Setter 197 1992
3 Toshe Efremov Outside Spiker 193 2007
4 Nikola Gjorgiev (C) Opposite 196 1988
5 Vlado Milev Outside-spiker 195 1987
6 Stojche Arsov Opposite 196 2003
7 Slave Nakov Middle-blocker 194 1994
8 Aleksandar Ljaftov Outside-spiker 198 1990
9 Filip Lepidovski Middle Blocker 199 2002
10 David Stojanov Setter 190 2001
11 Filip Despotovski Setter 194 1986
12 Eftim Richliev Setter 187 1995
13 Stefan Aleksov Opposite 195 1996
14 Angel Boshkov Outside Spiker 193 2002
15 Filip Madjunkov Middle-blocker 199 1996
16 Stojan Iliev Outside-spiker 190 1999
17 Luka Kostik Outside-spiker 198 2001
18 Vase Mihailov Outside-spiker 199 1986
19 Kostadin Richliev Libero 184 2000
20 Filip Savovski Middle Blocker 206 2002
21 Ivan Andonov Opposite 198 1989
22 Risto Nikolov Middle Blocker 202 1990
23 Hristijan Andonovski Middle Blocker 196 2004
24 Filip Nikolovski Libero 189 1997

Macedonian players in notable squads

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Vladimir Bogoevski
1975 European Championship
1979 European Championship
1980 Olympic Games
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