Article from Aussie-Croat Newspaper “The Croatian Herald”
IVAN RADOŠ, HAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA – The 48th Annual Croatian National Soccer Federation Tournament for Canada and the United States was held in Hamilton Ontario on September 3rd and 4th 2011.
The tournament returned to Hamilton Ontario (which is about 45 minutes south of Toronto) for the first time since 1993 and was a great success with several thousands of Croatians from across North America enjoying soccer, food, drinks and music over the Labour Day long weekend.
The Hrvatski Nacionalni Nogometni Savez has been in existence since 1964 pitting the best male Croatian Clubs from across North America against each other. 2006 saw the introduction of an Over-35 Veteran’s Tournament and in 2011, the inaugural Women’s tournament was held in conjunction with tournament weekend. In total 33 teams (20 Men, 8 Veteran and 5 Women) competed in 68 soccer matches to produce the 3 winners.
Action kicked off early Saturday morning with all group stage games. Group winners advanced directly to Sunday’s quarter-finals with the next six best teams competing in an additional round to determine the final three entrants in into the quarter-finals. When the dust settled, it was two powerhouse clubs from Chicago in the final.
CBP Jadran and Hrvatski Vitezovi (formerly known as Zrinjski Chicago) faced each other in the final again for the 3rd time in 7 years. The coin toss at the final was performed by Hamilton Mayor Bob Bratina who himself is a third generation Croatian.
Anthems were performed by members of two of Hamilton’s Folklore groups, Hrvatsko Selo and Hrvatski Narodni Dom.
There was also a ceremonial presentation by HNNS President Brian Capin to Hamilton Croatia President Mark Vuksan. Brian presented a glass trophy delivered from the HNS in Croatia to the host to congratulate them on hosting the tournament.
When the ceremonies ended, it was onto the soccer action. Vitezovi got on the board early about 15 minutes in to take a 1-0 lead after a cross into the box was headed into the back of the net. Vitezovi held onto the 1-0 lead for the majority of the game as CBP Jadran continued to press for the equalizer. With 5 minutes to go, Jadran finally broke through to tie the match with another cross into the box that was headed home. The game looked to be headed into extra time but Vitezovi would score the winner late from a free kick that was played into the box. The shot took a deflection but snuck past the keeper to make it a 2-1 final and give Vitezovi their second title in 7 years.
In other action, Croatia Windsor defeated Neretva Mississauga to claim the Veteran’s title while an all-Hamilton battle saw Croatia Hamilton A defeat Croatia Hamilton B 2-1 to claim the first ever Women’s Championship.
Besides the soccer action, the tournament features dances on Friday and Saturday night with the final banquet on Sunday. Over 1500 people crammed the banquet hall as music extended well into the morning on Monday. Overall the tournament was a resounding success with plenty of memories for all.
The 49th tournament will be hosted next year by Livno Oakville and will hopefully build on the massive success of the Hamilton tournament.
The host Hamilton Croatia was formed 1957 and is one of the founding members of the Croatian National Soccer Federation. Today the Club boasts a strong house league program, youth teams, women’s teams, men’s teams and veterans. Having a strong community was essential in hosting this event which required over 140 volunteers and hundreds of hours of planning and preparation. Without this network, hosting a tournament of this magnitude would not be possible. Special thanks goes out to all those who dedicated their time to make this event possible.
All proceeds from the tournament will be used to fund a new Croatian Sports & Community Centre in Hamilton which will begin construction in 2012.
