The head coach of the Croatian priests’ national futsal team, Fr. Krešimir Žinić, told Croatian Catholic Radio: “All of us priests are extremely proud of this achievement and of winning the silver medal. In doing so, we have continued our success on two levels. First of all, I offer my sincere congratulations to our handball team and our national futsal team on winning their bronze medals. This is the third championship in which Croatia has won a medal. At the same time, we have maintained our own continuity, because after winning gold in Albania and bronze in Hungary, we have now earned silver here in Poland.”

Reflecting on the journey, fr. Žinić claimed that it “certainly wasn’t easy”.

“We played a very difficult match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which remained evenly contested throughout. It ended 0–0. We had a little more luck and concentration and, I would say, greater unity, pride, and character, which enabled us to win in the penalty shootout. In the final, however, Poland was simply too strong for us and deservedly won 2–0. We will now prepare even better for the next European Championship and make another bid for the gold medal. I am immensely proud of all the priests on our national team, and I am delighted that we have once again brought joy, in our own way, to the Croatian people,” Fr. Žinić emphasized.

This year’s tournament, hosted by the city of Lublin and the Archdiocese of Lublin, was played in the sports halls of the city’s universities and brought together 18 teams of priests from across Europe, including Albania, Austria, Italy, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Ukraine. The matches, held in a spirit of friendship and mutual respect, were aimed not only at competition but also at strengthening fraternity among the clergy through sport. Launched in Austria in 2005, the tournament has, over the years, become a recognized sign of unity among European priests, transcending national borders.

Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, sent a message to the national teams and the organizers, as reported by Vatican News.

In his message, he expressed gratitude to Archbishop Stanisław Budzik, Metropolitan Archbishop of Lublin, for hosting and organizing the event. He also thanked the priests involved in preparing the championship, as well as the organizations that co-created and supported the initiative.

“During the recent Jubilee of Sport, the Holy Father said, ‘It is no coincidence that sport has played a significant role in the lives of many saints in our day, both as a personal discipline and as a means of evangelization.’ For this reason, I wish to offer a brief word of gratitude and encouragement to all the priests taking part in this tournament,” Cardinal de Mendonça wrote.