They turned football stadiums into battlegrounds and then fought real wars.

Now, nearly 20 years after the wars ended, the Balkan states are mulling the formation of a joint football league, hoping to give a new life to the once thriving competition.

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UEFA is considering a radical move to introduce a Balkan league that would comprise the former Yugoslav states.

The idea, which has triggered much controversy in the region, is to try to improve the quality of club football in the Balkans, which has dramatically deteriorated since the break-up of the former Yugoslavia in 1991.

UEFA President Michael Platini in 2009 said he was neither for nor against the regional league concept. But with his efforts to dilute the monopoly of west European clubs in the Champions League, he is apparently prepared to green light a Balkan league.

Prominent Croatian soccer manager and ex-player Ivan Cvjetkovic suggested that the weight of history was still too strong to consider a Balkans league.

Ivan Cvjetkovic:
"The joint Balkans league definitely has a future. It will happen one day, but that day is not close yet. Too little time has passed from the wars and the evil things that had happened, and that's why I think it will take a lot of time for this to happen."

If UEFA negotiates the joint league, it would lead to direct Champions League and Europa League berths for its most successful sides and perhaps shift the balance of footballing power in Europe.

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