A memorial tournament will be played in honor of Nikola Pokrivac and a scholarship for young athletes will be launched

We are transmitting the announcement in its entirety:

“On Good Friday, April 18, 2025, Croatian football lost one of its most recognizable faces. Nikola Pokriva, a former Croatian national team player and player for Dinamo and numerous domestic and foreign clubs, died prematurely, leaving a deep mark among his teammates, fans and everyone who knew him.

A year later, on the date of his death, April 18, 2026, Dinamo and Rijeka – the two clubs whose jersey Nikola wore in his rich career – will meet in the HNL derby, which will be played at the Maksimir Stadium on Saturday at 4 p.m.

On this occasion, Nikola’s friends, in cooperation with Dinamo’s foundation, Don’t Give Up started a movement Memorial of Nikola Pokrivč, which will be held from April 17 to 19 in Zagreb. As part of the Memorial, it will also be launched Scholarship “Nikola Pokriva”aimed at financial support for young, talented athletes from rural parts of Croatia.

The memorial begins on Friday, April 17a match Dinamo Futsal and Rijeka Futsal in Sutinski Vreli, as part of the last round of the regular part of the HMNL, a three-day program dedicated to Nikola symbolically begins. The central event will be held on Saturday, 1April 8, in Maksimirwhere he will play Dinamo and Rijeka they will go out on the field in T-shirts dedicated to Nikola Pokriv&ccaron.

The closing ceremony of the Memorial will be held in Sunday, April 19, at the Klinček field in Kušlanova Street as part of the GOAT League, where they will meet in a showcase match Legends of Dinamo and Legends of the Croatian national football team. Means for “Nikola Pokriva” scholarship will be collected during all three days of the Memorial, through direct donations from visitors, but also later, through auctions of signed jerseys and the sale of a limited series of memorial shirts with the image of Nikola Pokriv.

Memorial of Nikola Pokrivč it was conceived as a permanent initiative that creates new value from the memory of the former Croatian national team player. Through scholarships, young athletes from smaller communities will be able to have continuity of training, access to equipment and conditions that are often not available, all with the aim that talent and work, not circumstances, decide their sports path.”