Sixteen teams will compete in Zagreb in the EuroHockey 5s Under-16 Championship tournaments for boys and girls as Croatia continues its tradition as one of the most adept countries at hosting competitions.
“For much of the past 20 years, we try to host as many tournaments as we can,” says Croatian Hockey’s Slaven Zlatar ahead of the event in HK Jedinstovo.
It is the fourth edition of the 5s championship since taking over from 2016’s Future Heroes Cup and the joint event fits in well with the Croatian vision.
“For us, it’s important to have each year something in Croatia also and we can pick up good government support for top division events.
“For this one, we reckon each nation has everything they need for this event. The tournament hotel is 100 metres from the pitch, the other team hotel is 500 metres away; everybody will be close by so it will create that event atmosphere.
“It is an important competition for us. Currently, we don’t have Hockey 5s leagues in the normal season but now have some Under-16 tournaments so we have played a little bit of it.
“For me, it can help the new clubs who may not have the possibility to get a big pitch when they are starting out in new areas. This is, in my opinion, the value of it.”
The hosting comes at a time of a lot of positivity in Croatian hockey with HAHK Mladost landing a medal at the men’s EuroHockey Indoor Club Cup and the senior men’s national side debuting in the top division in February.
They also have an Indoor World Cup to host in Poreč, the first time the country will have an event of that magnitude to look forward to.
“We are always trying to do better. We have had some nice results like with the men’s indoor teams especially for the past five or six years which has become traditional. We have always had some great players and then, with the smaller player numbers required, it has helped us [compared to outdoor] when we need the full 18 players.
“And some European countries only play indoor for one or two months while we go from November to February for full four months.
“The World Cup is a big project for sure, working with the government and the tourist board, and we will organise it on a high level. [FIH President] Tayyab Ikram was here a few weeks ago and he and the FIH staff visited and I think they are happy with what they have seen.
“There are big possibilities and we want to make sure we have a good legacy after the event from it in the media and for the public.”
For this week, the focus is on laying on a great tournament for the next generation. Entry is free for all fans to the tournament in Zagreb and they can witness 48 matches over four days of competition.
On the boys side, Pool A features Austria, Croatia, Slovakia and Wales with Poland, Switzerland, Türkiye and Ukraine lining out in Pool B. Each side advances to a quarter-final and then subsequently on to semi-finals and classification matches.
Austria are looking to continue a strong run in the format, taking bronze in 2017, silver in 2019 and then gold in 2022 ahead of Ukraine and Switzerland.
The girls competition has the same format. The teams involved in Pool A are Georgia, Switzerland, Ukraine and Wales with Pool B featuring Austria, Croatia, Poland and Türkiye.
Ukraine are the reigning champions from 2022 in Basel, winning out ahead of Poland with the Turks in third place.
Find out more
- Updates from the event will be posted on the EuroHockey website and social media platforms
