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Wales will step into an emotionally-charged atmosphere when they play Tuesday night’s World Cup qualifier with North Macedonia in Skopje.
The match is the first to take place since 59 people were killed in a nightclub fire in the town of Kocani last Sunday, a tragedy that sparked seven days of national mourning.
Thousands gathered at cemeteries across the country last week to remember the victims of the blaze, which tore through Pulse nightclub at around 2.30am local time on Sunday.
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Interior minister Pance Toskovski said the fire spread rapidly across the nightclub as its ceiling was made of flamable material.
Around 500 people were inside the venue at the time, well over capacity for the 250 tickets sold, and Toskovski claims there are “grounds for suspicion that there is bribery and corruption” linked to the fire.
Along with the 59 fatalities, over 155 more are believed to have been seriously injured in the blaze, with most of the victims believed to be young people.
Some 20 people have been detained in connection with the tragedy, including government officials, police officers and the manager of the club, which had previously served as a carpet warehouse.
Officials say the club had illegally obtained its licence and lacked sprinklers, while the building’s single emergency exit was actually locked at the time of the fire.
Funerals took place across the country on Thursday, with the small town of Kocani, which only has a population of 30,000 hit particularly hard.
In Skopje, around 1,000 people gathered for the funeral of Andrej Gorgieski, a singer in the band DNK, which was performing at the club at the time.
Wales boss Craig Bellamy was quizzed on the recent events ahead of Tuesday night’s game, which will see both teams wear black armbands in one of several marks of respect planned on the night.
“We haven’t spoke about it but the players are aware of it,” Bellamy said at his pre-match press conference in Skopje.
“I’d like to send my condolences to the families and also the people of North Macedonia.
“It’s difficult to talk about football when moments like this happens, but we’re here for it and I completely respect the situation.
“We’ve had our own tragedies and we know as a country what they’re going through. I’d like them to know that everyone in Wales is fully behind them.”