They are the symbol of Europeada: Serbs in Croatia and Croats in Serbia

17.07.2022

From the colourful bouquet of teams participating in the Europeada 2022, the football championship of autochthonous European minorities in Carinthia/Koroška, the Croats in Serbia and the Serbs in Croatia stand out in particular. Not only have they travelled here together, but they are also staying in the same hotel, the Vogel/Eckwirt in St. Primus/Šentprimož. Moreover, it is immensely important for them to overcome together the tragic history and consequences of the disastrous war on the soil of the former common state of Yugoslavia in the spirit of peaceful coexistence and action. Thus they have become the symbol of the sporting and socio-political unity of this year's Europeada.

The Croatian Serbs will appear at the Europeada as the selection of the Serbs in Croatia. The eleven includes players from various football teams that are united in the Serbian Sports and Recreation Association in Croatia. They are mainly active in Zagreb, Eastern Slavonia and Vukovar. The appearance at the Europeada 2022 is supported by the National Council of Serbs in Croatia, the political-social umbrella representation of Serbs in Croatia, and the Office for National and Minority Rights of the Republic of Croatia.

Football connects

The Croatia team, based in Subotica in Vojvodina, is a recognised club body and is supported by the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina. The selection was founded about 15 years ago on the occasion of the tournament of autochthonous Croatian minorities in Europe organised by the Croatian Football Association (HNS). The Croats from Vojvodina emerged as winners and also won the World Championship of Croatian Minorities.

Cross-border football cooperation between the Serbs in Croatia and the Croats in Serbia was established a decade ago at the FUEN Congress in Moscow, when the then chairman of the National Council of Serbs in Croatia Saša Milošević and the current team manager of the Serbian Croats Ivan Budinević thought about a friendly match between the two teams. Four years later, in 2016, this first friendly match took place in Vukovar, the city that is considered an emblematic place of the brutality and nonsense of the recent wars on the soil of the former Yugoslavia. According to the Serbian head of delegation Tatjana Dragičević, this was a memorable key event, not overshadowed by any nasty surprise or chauvinistic outgrowth. The match was also part of the preparations for the Europeada 2016 in South Tyrol.

Mutual support

At that time, however, both teams lacked the necessary financial means to participate in the Europeada. A generous private sponsor covered all accommodation costs for both teams in South Tyrol, the National Council of Serbs in Croatia and the Croatian Football Association covered the costs for all equipment and bus transfers. The Croats in Serbia expressly thanked the Serbs in Croatia for this great gesture of friendship and assistance. Although official politics has not (yet) noticed or supported the cross-border cooperation of both ethnic groups across the former front lines, the Serbs and Croats on both sides of the border have continued and expanded their forward-looking path. In 2019, another friendly showdown took place in Tavankut near Subotica, which was broadcast on television throughout the Balkan region and received an enthusiastic reception.

Needless to say, both teams are looking forward to the Europeada in Carinthia. They expressly praised that "you have organised this tournament so excellently! In Carinthia, with you Carinthian Slovenes, we feel at home. But the big dream would be a Europeada final between our two teams. It would be the ultimate "El clasico regionale"!