September 19, 2019 – Croatia and Hungary will meet at Poljud Stadium next month for a crucial Euro 2020 qualifier. The City of Split and HNS sat down at Poljud on Wednesday to discuss the details.
Slobodna Dalmacija and Gol.hr report that a five-hour marathon meeting was held on Wednesday at Poljud on the topic of the upcoming Croatia-Hungary match, which will be played on Thursday 10 October. The media learned at 3 pm on Wednesday that everything is going according to plan, and that they are moving to the City Administration where they will finalize the contract they had not yet signed.
Just after 10 am, executive chairman Marijan Kustic arrived at the head of a large HNS delegation, including Vlado Iveta, Niksa Martinac, Zoran Cvrk, and female representatives and match managers Helena Pushkar and Antonia Burazer, who runs the VIP.
“What are the points in the contract? The organization of the match, the items that HNS is taking over, that is what we spoke about. There is no controversy, but there are a lot of details, a lot of points, so everything took five hours,” Kustic said pleased after the meeting.
Is Hajduk still not participating in the organization of the match?
“I’d be the happiest if they chose to participate. But, we are negotiating with the City and signing a contract with them,” Kustic added.
Split Mayor of Andro Krustolovic Opara was only at the beginning of the meeting to welcome the HNS delegation to Poljud, before hurrying back to the City Administration. Thus, the details were agreed by Mate Omazic and Domagoj Maroevic, and Kustic was to join Opara at the City Administration later.
“It is important that the people and services work and cooperate and look for the best model for this to be a win-win situation,” said Split Mayor Andro Krstulovic Opara. Recall, Dalmatinski Portal reported that the message ‘Opara liar – choose a side’ welcomed the Split Mayor in front of Poljud Stadium on Wednesday.
While some might think the most important win would entail qualifying points, the victories the mayor speaks of is normalizing relationships in Croatian football – and with Hajduk specifically.
“I want both Hajduk and HNS to come to the situation they announced two months ago, and I believe we are on the right track,” Opara added.
“The items that HNS itself is taking over are in regards to the organization, and they are taking over some of the things that we have discussed. But in the end, we agreed on everything,” he said.
Thus, the return of the Croatia national team and 2018 World Cup finalists to Poljud in Split goes its course. Tickets will be on sale from Monday and run between 100 to 250 kuna. In responding to media reports, Kustic does not believe that ticket prices are unusually high (up to 250 kuna on the day of the match).
Recall, the match at Poljud on October 10 is the return of the national team to Split for the first time since 2015. The World Cup finalists last played at Poljud in 2015 against Italy behind closed doors. Before that, they met Georgia in 2011. Both matches were played as qualifiers for the European Championships, in 2012 and 2016 respectively.
Croatia is on the verge of qualifying for the Euro once again, and every four years the national team seems to arrive back in Split.
This will be the 13th ever match played in Split, at Poljud Stadium, since Croatia gained independence.
The meeting on Wednesday was the second of such a gathering at Poljud.
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