December 19, 2019 - Croatian Football Federation President Davor Suker spoke at the regular assembly in Zagreb on Thursday.
"Honorable Members, Executive Board Members, Dear Guests, and Media Representatives,
I am glad to welcome you after another wonderful year for Croatian football.
With each new success, football is confirmed as one of Croatia's greatest values. Our jersey is the best gift you can give to any foreigner, and our football players are certainly the greatest ambassadors of the country abroad. Others want to learn from us because they are impressed with our system, our work and our results. This is a massive tribute to all of us who work in Croatian football and we can really be proud of that!
Our mood is highly dependent on the A-Team, and once again, they delighted us by qualifying for a big competition. Coach Dalic successfully rejuvenated the team after Russia while maintaining a recognizable togetherness and quality performance. This is precisely why we are very optimistic about the European Championships. Congratulations to the coach, staff and players on qualifying and I wish them good luck at the Euros.
The Federation will ensure maximum conditions for the national team, as it has always done. I believe our fans will enjoy London and Glasgow, and hopefully later across Europe.
EURO 2020 will be the 11th major competition for Croatia since independence. This continuity is the greatest confirmation that in Croatian football, success is not accidental but the result of systematic work, with the talent that we as a people have for team sports.
In the films, we will see some of the successes of our teams as well as some of the projects that the Federation has worked on in 2019, and you can find more details in the yearbooks on your tables. I don't want to repeat myself too much, but I have to mention a few more events.
Congratulations to our Under-18 national futsal team, who won the silver medal at the Under-19 European Championships, as well as to the seniors who qualified for the World Cup.
This fall, we were delighted by our young teams. Both the men's and women's U-19 and U-17 national teams qualified for the elite qualifying round for the Euros, a great success.
At the club level, the year was marked by Dinamo, which I congratulate in the Championship and excellent performances in Europe, both this spring in the Europa League and this autumn in the Champions League.
The successes weren't just on the pitch. It is a great honor for me to be representing the interests of our football for the next four years on the Executive Committee of Uefa, where many of our other officials are active.
We have successfully completed a demanding project to prepare the introduction of VAR technology in Croatian football. Congratulations to our Football Academy on their 20 years of service, as well as the many organizations and clubs that have celebrated their 100th anniversary this year. I want to emphasize the 100 years of the Zagreb Football Federation, which has made an immeasurable contribution to Croatian football.
I am proud of the humanitarian activities of our national teams and the Federation, as well as numerous activities with younger ages. With all the regular camps, we have supported the organization of more than 30 youth tournaments. We also continued investing in infrastructure with more than 15 million kuna distributed through inter-county football committees.
The results prove that HNS and Croatian football are doing a great job.
Therefore, I would like to thank all of you who work in clubs, counties and football centers and the Federation Office for your tremendous contribution to Croatian football, because without you there would be no such success.
Let's continue at the same pace and be proud!”
Following the Assembly, Suker addressed reporters, including HRT, revealing that the 2018 World Cup finalists would hold their Euro 2020 camp in Scotland, and that they would play a friendly against France at Stade France in June.
“The camp? It will be in the EU, near Glasgow," Suker said, adding that Croatia will play two games in March and another two in June.
“We will have a treat against France at Stade France in June, and we will play one game in Osijek. However, the appearance in the Doha tournament failed,” the HNS president revealed.
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