President Milanović Receives Players of the Croatian National School Football Team, Who Won the World Championship
The President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović today received the players of the Croatian National School Football Team, who won the world title at the World School Football Championship in the People’s Republic of China. This historic achievement by the young footballers came on 25 October in the Chinese city of Suzhou, where the championship was organised by the International School Sport Federation (ISF).
The President was briefed on the distinctive nature of the ISF competition, which has been held since 1972 and in which countries are represented not by professional clubs, but exclusively by students enrolled in regular secondary school programmes. The Second Gymnasium Varaždin (Druga gimnazija Varaždin) played a key role as the project lead, taking responsibility for the entire organisation of the team and the process of bringing the national squad together. For the school, this latest success builds on a series of outstanding international results, following a third-place finish in Morocco in 2023 and a fifth-place finish in China in 2024.
The meeting also highlighted the fact that this outstanding sporting achievement coincides with an important milestone: the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Second Gymnasium Varaždin. As the first sports-oriented secondary school in Varaždin County, it successfully enables students to combine high-performance sport with their education.
The meeting at the Office of the President of the Republic was attended by members of the Croatian National School Football Team: Captain Stjepan Habek, David Cigula, Mate Tkalčec, Fran Suhodolčan, Matej Vugrin, David Krobot, Leo Habek, Niko Gašparić, Dani Pintarić, Teo Benko, Lovro Mikulčić, Rok Hudek, Roko Valentak, Ivano Vidić, Jan Marić, David Grahovac-Fedešin, Ivan Posavec and Josip Ereš. They were accompanied by their coaches Goran Labaš, Igor Kranjec, Srđan Bajus, and team manager Dario Kos.
Also accompanying the young footballers were representatives of the Croatian School Sports Federation: President Prof. Zlatko Kraljević, Ph. D.; Secretary General Ivan Dujić, Ph. D.; and Marketing Manager Sara Češljaš. The delegation also included Miroslav Huđek, Head of the Administrative Department for Education, Culture and Sport of Varaždin County, and Nikola Slunjski, a teacher at the Second Gymnasium Varaždin.
President Milanović was accompanied by the Commissioner of the President of the Republic for Sports Tomislav Paškvalin.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan