Belgrade Football Subassociation

The Belgrade Football Subassociation, commonly known by its initials, BLP (Serbo-Croato-Slovenian: Beogradski loptački podsavez / Београдски лоптачки подсавез - БЛП) was one of the regional football governing bodies under the tutorial of the Football Association of Yugoslavia. It was formed on 12 March 1920, and included the clubs from the geographical territories of Vojvodina, Central Serbia, Old Serbia (Kosovo) and South Serbia (Macedonia). The increase of number of clubs made that progressively other subassociations become formed by separating them from Belgrade's one. By 1932 its territory included beside Belgrade metropolitan area only the districts of Kolubara, Braničevo, Podunavlje and Jasenica-Kosmaj.

Its main role was to organise and control the league competition which consisted in interconnected leagues in a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels.

At the top of the hierarchy was the First Division of the BLP (1. razred BLP / 1. разред БПЛ), often known simply as Belgrade Football Subassociation League and the winner had direct access to the Yugoslav Championship while the second placed had to play a qualifying round. The Second and Third Divisions were divided in groups.

Before the formation of the BLP, football clubs in Serbia lacked an organised competition and limited to play friendly or exhibition matches. Occasionally, tournaments were organised in major urban centers. Football was characterised as an amateur leisure activity. The formation of BLP joined a number of willingfull and passionate people who will improve the management and organisation of football in Serbia, turning it into a more developed and professionalised activity. This greatly contributed for the mass popularisation of football and the quality gap that existed in comparison to other footballistically more developed countries started to be diminish. In a relatively brief period, football went from being a marginal students leisure activity to become the most popular sports activity in the country. The press passed from an attitude of total ignorance towards full coverage, and most important, it became subject of interest from the lowest working and peasantry classes, to the Belgrade high society, with the royal family itself frequently attending the most important matches.

However at beginning it was the individuals with their own initiative and good-will that mostly contributed to the development of the clubs and the competition. The first president of the BLP was Dragutin Kostić. In 1921 he is replaced by Žika Simonović. That year the subassociation counted with only 66 clubs, 19 of which in the city of Belgrade itself, 9 in the district (župa - administrative unit) of Banat, 3 in Brčko, 4 in Bijeljina, 4 in Leskovac, 3 in Vranje, 2 in Skoplje, 3 in Zemun, 1 in Šabac, 2 in Sremska Mitrovica, 2 in Užice, 1 in Požega, 1 in Jagodina, 2 in Čačak, 1 in Ruma, 1 in Negotin, 1 in Kruševac and 1 in Veles. In the third general assembly hold that year, it was decided that Politika would become the official media of the BLP. The conference from 15 January 1922 was marked by the decision to strengthen the relations with the periferical provincial clubs, and the territory was divided among Župa's, administrative units corresponding in English language to parishes or districts.

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