May 31, 2022 - The Croatian Soccer Association of Australia (or the Hrvatski Nogometni Savez Australije) was founded in 1974, with its prime objective being to assist in the development and promotion of all its member soccer clubs in Australia (and New Zealand), that were formed/founded by local Croatian communities in each state.

Every year the Savez helps coordinate its annual soccer tournament, one that is awarded to one of its member clubs to manage and stage. Recent tournaments have attracted as many as 58 teams from all over Australia and New Zealand. Teams that compete in 1 of 5 divisions: Men’s Division 1 (NPL / State League clubs), Men’s Division 2 (Lower State League / Amateur Clubs), Women’s Division, a Master’s Division (over 35’s) and a Veterans Division (over 45’s).

Although the CSAA's member clubs were all founded by their respective Croatian communities around Australia and New Zealand, the composition of the actual teams is entirely multicultural – a true reflection of the welcoming nature of the Croatian community as well as these clubs’ unflinching commitment to excellence in the sport.

The inspiration for the tournament came from the successful Croatian-North American Soccer Tournament founded in 1964. In Australia, a trial tournament was first held at Melbourne Croatia's home ground at Montgomery Park in Essendon, where six Croatian clubs from across Australia participated. The first official CSAA tournament was held in 1975, an event that was hosted by Sydney Croatia, and taken out by Canberra Deakin Croatia. 

Since then, the CSAA's annual tournament has gone on to become the largest and oldest ethnic football tournament in Australia, having been hosted in every state and territory (except for the Northern Territory). It also holds the honour of being the oldest national soccer competition still running in Australia.

“The most recent Tournament hosted by Dandenong City Hajduk in 2019 prior to the nationwide COVID restrictions attracted some 58 teams from most of the CSAA’s 28 member clubs, with two international teams, RWB Adria Chicago and Munich Croatia participating at the 2018 Gold Coat Tournament”, according to CSAA President Jure Dragovic.

After a break of a number of years, the 2022 Tournament will be hosted by the King Tomislav Club in Sydney over the weekend of 29 September to 2 October, with well over 50 teams again participating not only in on-field competition, but a number of social and cultural activities including a gala evening, Miss Croatia Australia Pageant, CSAA Hall of Fame induction, as well as live music functions across the weekend.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated sports section. 

May 31, 2022 - Ten years after Luka Modrić and Niko Kranjčar left the then White Hart Lane, English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur has a new Croatian star in its ranks - Ivan Perišić!

Although this is not totally news, as the details of Ivan's contract at the English club are already known, the club officially announced it today, reports Gol.hr.

? “I’m really excited to start with the Spurs family”

Watch Ivan Perišić’s first interview as a Spurs player! ? pic.twitter.com/ktsbfAUEiR

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 31, 2022

Ivan comes as the club's first reinforcement this season, but there is no doubt that there will be more. Namely, English media reveal that Eugene Levy has finally decided to bring in some big shots.

Thus, after ten years, Tottenham gets another Croat in their ranks. In the early 2010s, we can recall the nickname 'Crottenham', when under Harry Redknapp, in addition to Modrić and Kranjčar, Vedran Čorluka and Stipe Pletikosa played at the club, one season even at the same time. Interestingly, they are currently the only Croats to wear the Spurs jersey.

No place like home ? pic.twitter.com/jBSBeSa2xa

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 31, 2022

Shortly before Tottenham's announcement, Ivan said goodbye to Intern, which he has been a member of since 2015, spending one season on loan at Bayern winning the Champions League.

"After 254 games, 55 goals, 49 assists, 3 trophies and 18.934 minutes spent on the pitch wearing this glorious jersey; my journey here has come to an end.

Even though every end means a new beginning it’s important to reflect back on these past years and show you my deepest appreciation for the work accomplished. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

It was an unforgettable learning experience for me as a player and for my whole family. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

To the team, the staff, to all the employees but most importantly to the fans: you will always have a special place in my heart. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

I leave feeling privileged having this club in my portfolio," Ivan wrote on Instagram. 

Ivan will work at Tottenham with Antonio Conte, the manager who revived him in a new position in his two years as Inter coach. The two together won the Italian title in the 2020/21 season, and will now look for new challenges in North London.

Conte managed to introduce Tottenham to the Champions League at the dramatic end of the season.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated sports section. 

May 31, 2022 - The New York Times put together a list of movies hitting theaters and streaming services in the United States this summer, including the Croatian film Murina, directed by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, which won the Caméra d'Or in last year's edition of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

Almost a year has passed since Murina, directed by Dubrovnik-born Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, began its run of success at major international film festivals, beginning with the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, where it took home the Caméra d'Or. The award recognizes the Best First Feature Film.

Before Murina, Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović directed the short film Into the Blue, awarded at international film festivals in Berlin and Sarajevo, which also starred her muse, Croatian actress Gracija Filipović. In a spiritual sequel to Into the Blue, Murina tells the story of Julija (Filipović), a teenage girl who decides to replace her controlling father with his wealthy foreign friend during a weekend trip to the Adriatic Sea.

The main locations of the film include the idyllic island of Koločep, the starkly beautiful Kornati archipelago, and the pebble cove of Dubovica near Hvar.

The debut feature film by Alamat Kusijanović, who also wrote the screenplay, was produced by legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese, who recently shared his feelings for the Croatian film:

''When RT Features brought me Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović's short film Into the Blue, I was quite impressed: here was a director with a picture she needed to make, who was clearly in it for the long haul. When I read the script for the feature that Antoneta developed from the short, I wanted to help get it into production. It was a long road: Antoneta was in the midst of editing when COVID arrived, it set her back for a whole year, but she got there.

I'm so impressed by Murina: by the raw immediacy of the conflict between father and daughter, which feels like it could only happen in such an elemental setting; by the psychosexual tensions between all the characters, so beautifully acted; and by the sheer physical force of the picture.

I'm excited for audiences to see Murina for themselves, and to witness the emergence of an extremely talented young filmmaker''.

Murina, in addition to taking the prestigious award at Cannes, was also recognized at the Hamptons International Film Festival, the Slovene Film Festival, and the Sofia International Film Festival, as well as being screened at numerous important film festivals around the world, such as the Toronto Film Festival. Unfortunately (and controversially), the film directed by Alamat Kusijanović was not selected by the respective committee to represent Croatia in the last edition of the Academy Awards.

Almost a year after its premiere in Cannes, the multi-award-winning Croatian film continues to tour the world, and this time it hits US theaters on July 8 this year, something that the renowned New York Times has highlighted by including it in their Summer 2022 watchlist.

The film's success also came through individual accolades. Murina's lead, the talented young actress Gracija Filipović, was honored at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival with the Shooting Stars Award, given to the 10 best young actors on the continent. Likewise, director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović has been officially announced as part of the jury of the 28th Sarajevo Film Festival, along with Austrian director Sebastian Meise, French director Lucile Hadžihalilović, Serbian actor Milan Marić, and Israeli producer Katriel Schory.

Congratulations to Antoneta, Gracija, and the entire Murina cast and crew for all the continued success!

For everything you need to know about filming in Croatia, in your language, be sure to check Total Croatia's page.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

May 31, 2022 - After the citizens had the opportunity to get acquainted with the real intentions to build a hotel in the former quarry at Valkane, as well as its appearance, the results of a survey conducted by the market research and public opinion agency IPSOS showed that, after hearing all relevant information, the majority of Pula residents, 58.3% support the construction of hotels, while 34.4% are against, and 7.3% of citizens are without answers.

It is interesting to note that 56.6% of citizens believe that demanding a referendum on building a hotel Valkane is a political game and collecting political points, only 30.9% believe that it is a real concern for citizens, while 12.5% ​​do not know.

 - In order for democracy to function, it is necessary to inform the decision-maker and we really try to communicate our every step publicly. We believed that, after getting acquainted with the project, a larger number of citizens will have a positive opinion of the project, which has now proved to be true. Regardless of what we do exclusively according to laws and valid plans, we care that citizens understand all segments of the project. Unfortunately, we have become the subject of political battles in which we do not want to participate. Opponents of the hotel conducted the research before the project was presented to the public and during a negative campaign marked by untruths and intimidation of citizens, and this has nothing to do with democratic decision-making based on true information. Unfortunately, these days they continue with the same rhetoric and we will be forced to seek legal protection from such untruths, but we are glad that more and more citizens support a project that will never bring a beautiful hotel, landscaped forest park, and public park and 250 year-round jobs, Hotel Valkane company said.

The same survey showed that 11.7% of citizens have not heard of this project so far, and of those who have, 37.3% know a lot about it, 38.3% do not know enough, while 12.7% have heard of the project, but they know nothing about it.

When we talk about the current situation in the area of ​​the former quarry at Valkane, 19.9% ​​of citizens believe that the situation in that location is good and that nothing needs to change, while 47.9% of them disagree and think that the location is insecure and ugly and urgent remediation and conversion is needed. 24.1% of them do not know and have not been there for a long time, 3% of citizens do not know where it is, and 5.1% do not know.

Almost two thirds of respondents agree that Pula needs five-star hotels, such as those built in Rovinj, of which 30.9% think it is very important, and 30.4% think they need it, but not very important. 24.7% of them believe that such hotels in Pula should not be built, but they would not mind, while only 12% of citizens would mind building such content, and 2% of them are unanswered, the results of this study showed.

- We continue to inform citizens about all the details and activities and about each phase of the project in the coming months, from the preparatory works, permits and finally the construction and opening of the hotel, concluded the company Hotel Valkane.

The survey of citizens' attitudes for Hotel Valkane was conducted by the IPSOS agency from 23 to 27 May 2022, on a representative sample of 600 respondents over the age of 18 residing in the City of Pula.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 31 May 2022 - His Majesty The King's Guard (Hans Majestet Kongens Garde, or HMKG)  is arriving in Croatia for the first time to visit Zagreb and Split where it will conduct exercises and a march, the Norwegian Embassy said on Tuesday.

During the tour of Croatia, the guard's 130-member orchestra and soldiers will perform ceremonial routines, including concerts and drill exercises, the embassy said.

Their first performance will be on Friday, 3 June, on Split's Riva promenade.

They will conduct two performances in Zagreb on 4 June, first in the downtown Ban Jelačić Square together with the Croatian Army and then a march around the inner city centre.

In the evening they will conduct a march in Maksimir Park and conduct another performance.

All the performances are free of charge.

This event is the result of continued and successful cooperation between the Croatian and Norwegian armies within the NATO alliance.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 31 May 2022 - Croatia's Supreme Court has quashed a guilty verdict in the case of ex-JNA general Borislav Đukić, who was sentenced to ten years in prison for war crimes against civilian population by Split County Court in late 2020, and has ordered a new retrial.

The second retrial against this Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) general, who was tried and convicted of blowing up the Peruća dam in 1993 during the Homeland War, will again be held in the Split County Court.

The Supreme Court has sustained the defendant's appeal, explaining that the first-instance ruling, delivered by the Split Court, contained contradictory and incomprehensible arguments.

Đukić was arrested in Montenegro in July 2015 and handed over to Croatia in March 2016.

In the first trial which ended in the late 2018, he was sentenced to nine years for war crimes, and in a retrial in 2020 he was sentenced to ten years.

During the 1991-1995 war, Đukic served as commander of a Yugoslav army motorised brigade and Croatian Serb paramilitary forces operating near the border with Bosnia. Evidence presented during the trial showed that in 1993 he had ordered 30 tonnes of explosives to destroy the Peruća dam, located about 50 kilometres inland from the southern coastal city of Split.

The explosion caused damage valued at a total of about 130 million kuna (17.5 million euros). The direct damage was 90 million kuna (120 million euros), while 10 million German marks was spent on repairing the dam.

Although the damage done was severe, workers managed to prevent a major flooding of the areas downstream, which would have endangered the lives of some 50,000 people.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 31 May 2022 - Hungarian Foreign Peter Szijjarto has requested an urgent meeting with Croatian Economy Minister Davor Filipović, according to informed sources, Večernji List daily said on Tuesday.

Szijjarto wanted to meet with Filipović yesterday when Croatia marked Statehood Day and suggested meeting at the Zagreb airport's VIP lounge.

According to the Economy Ministry, Filipović refused, finding it unacceptable to meet on Statehood Day and especially to do so at the airport's VIP lounge. Filipović suggested meeting at the ministry today.

According to Večernji's well-informed sources, Szijjarto wants to talk about oil and its transport by the Croatian JANAF pipeline to Hungarian energy group MOL's refineries, which now receive Russian oil by the Druzhba pipeline.

Although it is expected that after imposing sanctions on Russian oil imports, the EU will allow Hungary and Slovakia to receive Russian oil by Druzhba for a while longer, the two countries will have to commit to doing everything to switch the supply route to JANAF, the daily said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has tried to explain Hungary's objections to a Russian oil embargo by claiming that JANAF does not have sufficient capacity to transport oil to Hungary, which is false, the daily said, adding that Hungary will evidently have to admit this if it seeks urgent meetings with the Croatian minister in charge of energy.

Evidently, Hungary must urgently ensure alternative supply routes for two MOL refineries in Hungary and Slovakia, for which it depends on Croatia and will now have to be nicer in its relations with Croatia, the daily quotes its sources as saying.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 31 May 2022 - Croatia's Statehood Day was marked in Sarajevo on Monday with a Zagreb Soloists concert under the auspices of the Croatian Foreign Ministry, with Ambassador Ivan Sabolić saying Croatia wants to strongly support Bosnia and Herzegovina's stability.

The concert, given on the occasion of Statehood Day and 30 years since Croatia's international recognition, was organized by the Croatian Embassy to BiH in cooperation with the Croatian Cultural Society Napredak, which is marking 120 years of activity.

Sabolić said the independent, democratic, and European Croatia had a strong interest to ensure that the whole region follows its path by drawing closer to Euro-Atlantic integration which, he added, was the only guarantee of lasting stability, notably in the turbulent times in Europe is going through.

Croatia has a special interest in the stability of BiH, which it sees as a state of three equal constituent peoples, the ambassador said.

Napredak president Nikola Čića said this organization advocated not only preserving Croatian culture but also promoting understanding, dialogue and compromise, without imposing solutions in BiH, as the only way to lasting trust between the peoples living in the country.

For more, check out our politics section.