Who is Hajdukova making his WC debut: ‘I was the happiest when we scored a goal against Croatia’

His journey from amateur leagues in Vancouver to professional football in Europe and a place in the national team was marked by several key decisions, including changing his football citizenship to play for the country of his birth.

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Niko Kristian Sigur was born in Burnaby, a suburb Vancouverin a family of Croatian emigrants. Back in 2018, when it was announced that Canada would be one of the hosts of the World Cup, he told his father To Tony to perform for the Canadian national team.

​- I remember telling him I was going to play for Canada in that World Cup. And now, we will play two games in my hometown of Vancouver – Niko explained.

After playing for local clubs Mountain United i Vancouver WhitecapsSigur was left without a club in 2020. For a time he played for a semi-amateur team Vaughan Azzurri. He took a key step in his career in 2022, when he came to Slovenia for a trial at his own expense. Radomlje, the then branch of Hajduk.

After a week of rehearsal, the then sports director Andro Fistonić He recommended him to Hajduk, who hired him. He made his debut for the first team of the Split club in April 2023 under the guidance of the coach Ivana Leke and since then it has become standard član momčadi.

Change of representation

Although at first he chose to perform for Croatiathe country of his parents, Sigur later changed his decision. In May 2023, he accepted the invitation of the Croatian U-21 national team, declaring at the time that he wanted to wear a ‘beautiful Croatian jersey’ because it was his family’s homeland. He was a member of the youth selection at the European Championship and was on the extended list of the A national team for Euro 2024, but he did not receive an official invitation. In the summer of 2024, he requested a change of football citizenship so that he could play for Canada.

He explained his decision in an interview for Canadian television station TSN, where he cited the match between Croatia and Canada at the World Cup as one of the key moments. Every in 2022.

​- My favorite memory from the world championships is Canada’s goal against Croatia. I was in Hajduk, I came a few months before the start of the WC. My teammates teased me a lot. I was with Rokas Pukštasonly the two of us were in the room, and the Croats tried to watch the match with us. I told them they couldn’t and that they had to stay outside. When Canada scored for 1-0… I have never been happier in my life. Emotions overwhelmed me, I couldn’t believe it – he honestly admitted.

Although Croatia ended up winning 4-1, that moment influenced his decision.

​- I am proud of my Croatian roots, but I feel like I am a Canadian Croat. I was born here, I lived here and played football here all my life, so I felt like I owed it to Canada to wear its jersey – he concluded.

Since settling in Hajduk’s first team, Sigur has become one of the club’s key players. He plays in several positions, including right back and rear midfielder, which makes him interesting on the market. One of the most notable moments in the Hajduk jersey was his winning goal in the derby against Dynamo in December 2024.

His performances attracted the attention of European clubs. The media connected him with clubs like Atalanta, Wolverhampton, Anderlecht i Celtic. According to media reports, Hajduk has filed a compensation claim for him in the amount of up to ten million euros. Sigur has a contract with Hajduk until the summer of 2028.

Private life and career outside the field

Niko Sigur mostly keeps his private life out of the media. One of the rare posts of that kind was a photo with a girl on Instagram and comments turned off.

During his career, there was also an incident when he received a red card for spitting at a Rijeka player. Stjepan Radeljićwhich caused negative reactions in the sports public.

Sigur is now preparing for the World Cup, where he will play for the Canadian national team and try to fulfill the goal he set as a youth.