Croatia Hamilton was one of the main players in spearheading the formation of the Croatian National Soccer Federation of Canada and the U.S. More notably, Marinko Dragušica and Ivan Hegeduš worked tirelessly for many years on two fronts – promoting the spirit of Croatia Hamilton, and being leaders in establishing the CNSF. Dragušica also served as the one of the first CNSF Presidents for numerous years.
With the CNSF established, Croatia Hamilton’s representatives championed the initiative to schedule an order for hosting the Labour Day tournament in progression of when the teams joined the Federation. In this fashion, every team received a fair chance to host a tournament. This allowed each club to gain financially which ensured that they could maintain stability, and continue to promote the Croatian name in their own cities.
Croatia Hamilton member Ivan Busija served as the Federation’s President for three years from 2005-07. Others who more recently have spent extensive time on the executive board include Ivan Rados, Kruno Rimac, Mike Radencich, and Joey Rados.
Hamilton has always encouraged the idea of generosity towards other Croatian communities. It is the best way to preserve our identity and strengthen nationalism among all Croatians outside of the homeland. Despite our diversity — differences of opinion, dialect, age or political views — our solidarity will help us progress into the future.
