SAMBO Union of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Sambo Union of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SUFBIH) was officially founded in September 2024. The Federation was founded by 3 officially registered SAMBO clubs: "Neretva", "Zrinjski" and "Široki Brijeg", which to this day practice and promote SAMBO in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The first initiative to introduce SAMBO in BiH and create a SAMBO Federation was launched by the SAMBO Club Neretva based in Mostar and its founder Mr. Majo Ćeško. Among these first enthusiasts, in addition to the President of SUFBIH Majo Ćeško, there were several other people: Vice President of SUFBIH Srđan Ajvaz and Secretary General Ivan Jurić, who are two other founders of the Federation. Experienced in other similar sports such as judo and jiu jitsu, these people saw a great opportunity in bringing SAMBO to their country.

The first SAMBO club in BiH, the SAMBO club "Neretva" from Mostar, as the only club from BiH at the time, had the honor of being invited by Mr. Sergey Eliseev (President of the European SAMBO Federation) and Mr. Dmitry Maximov (Ex-Sports Director of the International SAMBO Federation) to represent BiH at the World SAMBO Championships 2020 for juniors, youth and adults. For the junior age group, Bosnia and Herzegovina was represented by Srđan Ajvaz in the category up to 82 kg, who won a great 7th place, and was greeted by representatives of the Serbian national team. In the younger age, Domagoj Jozeljić performed in the category up to 81 kg and also placed among the 7 best in the world, and he was beaten by the Uzbekistan national team representative.

In 2021, the World Youth and Junior SAMBO Championships was held in Greece, more precisely in the city of Thessaloniki. Bosnia and Herzegovina had two national team members this time, and two fifth places were won in very strong competition. Both competitors come from the SAMBO club Neretva from Mostar. Adnan Demirović (youth) in the category up to 98 kg won fifth place in the competition of 12 national team members. Srđan Ajvaz (junior) in the category up to 88 kg also won a great fifth place in the competition of 14 representatives.

In 2022, the SAMBO club "Neretva" from Mostar won two bronze medals at the European SAMBO Championships held in Novi Sad (SRB). It is the first SAMBO club in BiH which has been operating as such since 2018. After great results and bronze medals at the European Championships, the members of the SAMBO Club "Neretva" (the only representatives of BiH) were once again in the spotlight. Namely, a member of this club, Adnan Demirović, performed for the European team as part of the World Cup "Serbia SAMBO Open". The BiH national team member and member of the SAMBO Club "Neretva", Adnan Demirović, captain of the European team, achieved victory and brought the European team to the podium.

In 2023, at the European Championships held in Haifa, Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina was represented by 6 athletes together with their coach, Mr. Majo Ćeško, who went to this prestigious competition and again justified their departure, returning with medals. The first ever medal in Combat SAMBO for BiH was won by Josip Previšić in the 88 kg category. Previšić won the bronze medal and thus entered the history of this sport in BiH. The day after, Previšić competed in Sport SAMBO and achieved a great result there, winning 5th place. The second medalist for BiH at the European SAMBO Championships was Marino Dugandžić, who also competed in two disciplines and achieved success. In Sport SAMBO, he won 5th place, while in Combat SAMBO he won a bronze medal. For these two BiH national team members, this was the first time ever in this discipline, and in the senior competition, which is a great compliment. Also, in 2023, the Balkan SAMBO Championship was held in the Greek city of Aminatio, where BiH athletes won 8 Balkan medals (2 gold, 1 silver and 5 bronze medals).

By visiting other SAMBO experts and participating in various seminars, BiH coaches gained a lot of new knowledge and decided to organize a SAMBO federation.

Three coaches from Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in the same year in a seminar for coaches organized by the International SAMBO Federation (FIAS) where they underwent written and practical training, namely Mr. Majo Ćeško, Mr. Ivan Jurić and Mr. Srđan Ajvaz at this seminar, which was led by an eminent expert in the field of SAMBO, Prof. Sergey Tabakov, PhD. On this occasion, great trust was shown to the Bosnian and Herzegovina coaches and they eventually received well-deserved certificates.

In 2023, at the World SAMBO Cup in Novi Sad, two members of Mostar's Neretva competed for the Bosnian national team. Marino Dugandžić became the World Cup champion in the up to 98 kg category for seniors (Combat SAMBO), while Srđan Ajvaz took 5th place in the up to 88 kg category (Sport SAMBO).

In 2025, athletes from the SAMBO Union of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SUFBIH) competed at the European SAMBO Championships in the Republic of Cyprus, Limassol, where they were unanimously accepted as full members of the ESF at the Congress of the European SAMBO Federation. At the same Championships, a member of the BiH national team, Josip Previšić, won a bronze medal in Combat SAMBO in the 98 kg category for seniors.

In 2025, the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina also took part in the European University SAMBO Cup and achieved excellent results. Josip Previšić won a bronze medal in Combat SAMBO in the -98 kg category, while Srđan Ajvaz secured a silver medal in Sport SAMBO in the -88 kg category.

In the same year, the SAMBO Union of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SUFBIH) was recognized and accepted as a new full member of FIAS at the FIAS Congress in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.