OPINION: The Cro ‘tourney’ needs to be hosted by cities not clubs

The annual Australian Croatian Soccer Tournament has become a major event.

So big, in fact, that it’s time that cities NOT clubs ought to bid for future editions of the popular annual gathering of Australian Croats.

For more than 50 years, the ‘Tourney’ has brought together Croatian football clubs and communities from right across Australia and New Zealand.

But, because of the sheer logistical giant it has become, perhaps it’s time to rethink who actually needs to host it.

The tournament has traditionally been awarded to individual clubs, which then take on the enormous responsibility of staging the event.

It must be said, often engaging other Croatian community clubs in their city – in essence providing a workforce in excess of up to 300 volunteers. In recent year, sometimes, even exceeding that figure.

That model has served the tournament well. Up until now.

The size and significance of the event has changed. Rather dramatically. There is now a strong argument for formally recognising something that has already happened on several occasions. The tournament should be hosted by cities, rather than (individual) clubs.

The upcoming tournament in Melbourne, in a few weeks’ time, provides perhaps the clearest example.

St Albans Dinamo and Strathmore Split were originally announced as the co-hosts of the 52nd tournament. The matches were set to be staged at Dinamo’s Churchill Reserve in St Albans and Split’s Strathnaver Reserve in Strathmore.

But Melbourne’s Croatian football community is much bigger than just two soccer clubs.

Due to other forced (logistical) reasons, this year’s event has now also involved the Melbourne Knights FC. Furthermore, the Melbourne Croatia Soccer (Social) Club is also involved.

This development has effectively turned the tournament into a broader Melbourne Croatian community event spread across multiple locations.

And that is precisely the direction the tournament should now be heading.

Rather than asking which club wants to host the tournament, the Croatian Soccer Association of Australia (Savez) needs to formally be asking which city, i.e. Croatian community, will host it in the future?

A successful city bid could then bring together all of the relevant Croatian clubs, social clubs, businesses, community organisations, councils and volunteers in that city.

Both formally and officially.

The individual clubs would still be critically important. They would provide grounds, volunteers, teams, facilities, local knowledge and much of the workforce required to make the tournament happen. But they would be partners in a broader city-wide organising structure. They would no longer carry the burden of hosting the national tournament themselves.

There is also a practical reason for making the change.

Staging the tournament has become a major logistical and financial undertaking. Grounds, accommodation, transport, referees, security, entertainment, food, facilities and community activities all require considerable organisation.

Spreading that responsibility across an entire Croatian community makes far more sense than placing it primarily on the shoulders of one or two clubs.

It might also open the door to larger sponsorship opportunities, greater involvement from local (and state) government and stronger engagement with the wider (non-football) Croatian community.

The tournament has always been about more than football. It is a national gathering of Australian Croatians.

The hosting model should now reflect that. The clubs should remain at the heart of the tournament. But the host should be the city, and the Croatian community within that city.

Perhaps, it is time for the Savez to make that principle official.

And who knows? This just might bring together otherwise fractured and divided communities?!

But, THAT is a topic for another discussion…..

See related article: What happens off the field at the Australian-Croatian tournament