President Milanović Visits Zaseka Sports and Recreation Centre and Mladost Football Club Stadium in Zabok

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović visited the town of Zabok, where he toured the Zaseka Sports and Recreation Centre and the Mladost Football Club Stadium, which boasts a new artificial grass pitch and lighting system. The investment, worth almost one million euros, was co-financed by the town of Zabok in the amount of 4 million Croatian kunas, or 530 thousand euros, according to the Mayor of Zabok Ivan Hanžek. The Croatian Football Federation provided 260 thousand euros for the artificial grass. The remaining funds were secured through donations and sponsorships.

After the opening ceremony, Krapina-Zagorje County Prefect Željko Kolar explained that today it is difficult to motivate young people to play sports in the absence of quality infrastructure, which the town of Zabok now has – at least for football. “Today is a big day because, after Krapina, Zabok is the second community to get a pitch with artificial grass. I believe that this is an incentive for other local self-government units to do the same in their environs,” said County Prefect Kolar.

In response to a journalist’s question about the significance of President Milanović’s visit, County Prefect Kolar said that his presence is an endorsement of cooperation between local self-government units and the Croatian Football Federation, which jointly invest in projects of this type. “Conditions are being created for strong youth schools, and that is the key, because without strong youth schools strong youth teams are not possible,” County Prefect Kolar emphasized.

President Milanović told County Prefect Kolar that the last time he played in Zabok was when he was much younger and that at the time his team lost 2:1.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan