Croatia. It’s not the most likely place in the world to hear about a flourishing Australian Football competition. Some have heard of Denmark, Canada, the US and UK sides, but few ever talk about the sleeping giant that is the Croatian league.
In 2005, half a dozen expatriate Australians began to play footy in Zagreb.
However today the Croatian Association has around 50 players, none of whom are Australian.
The league has grown from one to four clubs – three clubs from Croatia – mostly in and around Zagreb and an additional club from Austria.
The President of the Croatian league is Josip Kravar, who was introduced to the game by his cousin from Adelaide.
He supports Hawthorn, who are also partnered with the Zagreb Hawks.
Kravar tells me that the league plays matches every second week on university rugby union pitches, and due to this restriction the league plays nine a side.
This restriction is not uncommon in Europe (the national side does comprise the traditional 18 a side formation).
He says that this makes it easier for people from football and rugby union to adapt to the Australian game.
Recruiting is done mainly through schools and universities. Josip says that university teams play in Croatia and Austria, and have even played Oxford in England.
“A couple of the young guys who lead the Association said we just had to go hard if we wanted the league to survive for the next ten years,” says Josip.
That hard work has partly paid off with Zagreb University granting them land.
Next year the new facility will have its first locker rooms, posts and the first Australian football oval in Eastern Europe.
Recruitment is an intriguing process with the league utilising a draft process for University and senior recruits to ensure a spread of talent.
This may be the only Australian rules league outside of Australia to use such a system.
Clubs visit schools and recruits from the schools in question are zoned to the club which visits.
The national side competes in the EU Cup where they are something of a powerhouse.
They recently placed bronze, but have collected a few medals in recent years.
They’ve finished first, second, second and third in the four previous EU Cups.
The Knights intend to go the International Cup in August, with expected costs of more than AU$2000 per player.
Kravar says the team for the cup will include 26 players, coaches and other staff.
Costs are prohibitive and like many national sides trying to get to Melbourne in 2014, the Knights are on the lookout for sponsors.
If you’d like to know more about the Association of Australian Football in Croatia, visit their website. Please note the site is presently only available in Croatian.
Adam Smith
Guest
Great to see them competitive in this game. They do love their sports, and can punch way above their weight in some sports like water polo, handball and soccer. I do hope that AFL administrators start trying to help other countries. I'm sure they would have heaps of training material (videos, books, magazines) or old balls, uniforms, equipment etc that could be given to these countries (or sold cheaply) to help them out. Some of the marketing material and media could be 'copy pasted' and customised to suit the country in question. This could then be used to promote the game overseas. It's probably the only Australian made game and the crowds we have here are enormous. I know they've got the money, they really should take expansion seriously. What about New Zealand? They're almost like us, speak English, they're like our cousins. Why not relocate one of the Melbourne clubs over there? More than enough Melbourne clubs. Wikipedia says they have 10,000 junior players. Give some of these guys a shot! Perhaps even send a club to Papua New Guinea? They love the sport there too. Yeah build a stadium first, an oval that can be used for Cricket and AFL. They love Cricket too. They were once an Australian colony so it's not a surprise they love our sports. Let's open our minds up and get creative.
Bill C.
Guest
Another enjoyable read Wookie. You mention that the Zagreb Hawks are partnered with Hawthorn, what benefits does this sort of partnership provide for both clubs?
The_Wookie
Roar Guru
its all about context.
Ahmed
Guest
Between which dates do they play? I will hopefully be in Croatia next month.
AGO74
Guest
50 players equals sleeping giant? If you say so.
The_Wookie
Roar Guru
Im hoping to tee up an individual feature with a guy who plays for iceland, manages Denmark and has played or been involved with 2 other national sides. Theres some great stories out there.
The_Wookie
Roar Guru
thats the key part of this article for me. the fact that even though it was started by expats, its now a totally croation operation. Josip came across to me as really enthusiastic about the game and its prospects for the future in Croatia. It really does make you wonder what could be done with just a little more funding from the AFL.
Avon River
Guest
Footy in Iceland was set up by Icelanders playing in Denmark who on returning home wanted to keep playing. There are some other European footy players who have moved around and helped est or bolster clubs in others countries. People like Brett Kirk when he did his world tour in 2011 are often surprised to see how passionate many of these people are who effectively demand that Australia actively shares the great game. For Croatia to get a home ground will be massive for them.
Avon River
Guest
Not "World" dear sir. A powerhouse of sorts at Euro 9s to a degree compared to the other squads they've encountered. For example the squad Ireland might send to the Euro 9s is often a far cry from their top strength Int Cup squad. On a world scale it will be interesting to see how they fare on debut at next years 5th International Cup. Probably in Div 2 depending on how it pans out. On a world scale teams at the top end such as PNG, NZ, Ireland and to a lesser degree South Africa are generallya class above. The next tier of USA, Grt Brit, Nauru and Denmark on their day can be very good. Croatia might aim to be competitve at least with Japan and Sweden and others around that mark. Fiji who won div 2 back in 2011 will be keen to go an extra step and be competitive in div 1. So much will depend on fundraising and which nations make it and how strong their squads are. But no - Croatia are not a 'world power'.
Ronny
Roar Rookie
Interesting about AFL Europe, after your article about Germany, i had a look at their website, amongst the Directors was a Croation guy, who actually learnt his football in America, but since returning to Europe helped out with the Croation team and obviously the head body. That would have to be a first, or amongst them, normally people setting up clubs, leagues etc are Australian expats, have cousins/family/friends here who play the game, or are visitors who see the game when visiting.
The_Wookie
Roar Guru
Powerhouse is based on performance not player numbers. No one gives a crap if your a massive club that never wins anything. There are 18 national sides in European Australian Football - for croatia to consistently place in the top 3 despite limited numbers is impressive. Unless you are troll, which im utterly convinced you are.
Ronny
Roar Rookie
Never played for South Freo !! , the overall list could also include ..... Gabelich, Perovic, Ukovich, Kekovich ( ?), Barich, Solopek, Dragecevic, Jurica, just off the top of my head etc etc
Mark - Melbourne
Guest
@Mal, when Wookie says power house he means in the International & EU competition, not Australia !!, you obviously don't understand, from Croatia's previous results competing in the EU Cup, international circuit, they would be considered a power house, results don't lie, they've managed to grab hold of a medal almost every time they've competed.. @Ronny, nice list mate, but what about Alen Didak, Craig Starcevich, Ivan Maric & Nic Suban
Ronny
Roar Rookie
Not suprised about Croatia, for a relatively small nation they have big, strong, powerful athletes that have made their mark in Tennis, NBA basketball, Volleyball, soccer etc, so not suprised they can put a decent Aus football team together to match other countries who have more players to choose from. For Ex a South Fremantle Croation All Stars team team shows a very physically powerful team, blessed with great skill Jon Dorotich Darren Gaspar Travis Gaspar Damien Gaspar Glen Jakovich Danny Civich Rod Grijusich Tony Parentich Otto Santich Eric Sarich Tom Grijusich Allen Jakovich Peter Sumich John Gerovich Scott Watters Ruck jack Sumich Mathew pavlich jack Rocchi INT Ivan Glucina George Grijusich Tony begovich dean Ercegovich Emergencies Don,Mark,Andy & Ross Grijusich,Ivan Bartul,Matt & Mark Sambrailo,Budi,Laurie & JoeSumich,Murray Bogunovich,Branko & CraigCivich,Joe & NickSilich,David & Terry Lucich,Kym Zubrinich,Frank Lendich,Bob Bucat,Gary Cukrov,Jason,Surjan,Dennis Novak,John,Pavlovic,Gary Jakovich
The_Wookie
Roar Guru
The interview can be found on youtube here http://youtu.be/mCl0vnxsgo8