Čilić Foundation, Top Croatian stars play tennis for Petrinja
July 11, 2021 – More than 6 months after the devastating earthquake in Petrinja, some of the top Croatian sports stars are coming down to the city to bring smiles to children’s faces – meet Gem Set Croatia.
International football and tennis attention may be in London today with the finals of Wimbledon and Euro 2020, but the cream of Croatian sports talent will be exhibited in the city of Petrinja for the first two days next week, as some of the biggest Croatian stars action of the Marin Čilić Foundation to raise funds for new sports facilities for the Dragutin Tadijanović Elementary School, which, together with the rest of the city, was severely affected by the earthquakes in December 2020.
Have you ever seen Luka Modric play tennis?
I visited Petrinja and the surrounding region the day after the most devastating earthquake (read more in Majske Poljane, Glina, Petrinja: Foreigners’ view of Croatia’s emergency measures). In addition to the traumatic destruction, I was again impressed by the camaraderie of Croats who helped each other in times of need, as regions with food, clothing and blankets were running down license plates from all over the country. A truly humanitarian response.
Slowly, however, Petrinja has disappeared from the front pages, but few valuable private initiatives have heard much about reconstruction efforts. But that will change next week, with a very inspiring initiative by the Marin Cilic Foundation, which managed to persuade some of the best Croatian stars to come to Petrinja on July 12 and 13 for the Gem Set Croatia, a two-day tennis spectacle. on which the stars will compete against each other, as well as a number of other activities.
Petrinja will turn into a kind of tennis village modeled on world tennis tournaments. The main tournament itself will take place on July 13, at which famous tennis stars will team up with famous stars from other sports. The tournament will be held on the recently built playground in front of the Dragutin Tadijanović Elementary School.
The two days will be filled with a variety of activities, sporting and cultural events, including cinema screenings, blood donation, sports workshops, health and entertainment activities, and plenty of food and drink.
Admission for two days is free, and tickets for the tennis tournament are available via Entry. The funds raised will be donated for the construction of sports facilities.
And what a series of stars he has confirmed so far. In addition to Čilić, there are also Luka Modrić, Marijo Mandžukić, Mate Pavić & Nikola Mektić (fresh from his triumph at Wimbledon), Borna Ćorić, Ivan Dodig, Donna Vekić, Mateo Kovačić, Ivan Perišić and Ante Rebić.
A great gesture of all of them, and promises to be an amazing and unforgettable event for the children of Petrinja.
You can find out more about Gem Set Croatia on the page official site.