Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Croatia. Although athletes from this region have been involved in international sport previously, they did not compete under their own name until the break up of Yugoslavia in 1991, as was also Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia-Montenegro.

Croatian flag waving at a football gameCroatian flag waving at a football game

Croatia is in the crossroad of central and southern Europe. It has a population of about 4 million people and 10 percent of that is actively involved in sports. Association football or soccer is the most popular sport in Croatia and the Croatian Football Federation has about 118,000 registered players that make it the biggest sports association in the country with the biggest clubs in Hajduk and Dinamo. The national team has punched well above its weight on the world stage, finishing as runners-up at the 2018 World Cup and taking third place in both 1998 and 2022 — three medals in six World Cup appearances, more than any other nation that has never won the tournament. They qualified for a seventh World Cup, in 2026, by winning UEFA Group L.

Sports are an integral part of Croatian culture. Croatians also enjoy tennis, with Marin Čilić the country's most successful modern player — the 2014 US Open champion reached a career-high ranking of world number 3 in 2018 and remains an active veteran on the ATP Tour. But when it comes to tennis, Croatia's biggest name is Goran Ivanišević, who in his 15-year long career was able to go up against and beat tennis giants like Pete Sampras and even Andre Agassi who he took out to win the 2001 Wimbledon title.

International Croatian athletes have taken home a lot of honor for the country that includes 13 world championships and gold medals. They got two from the World Championships in Athletics (2007 and 2009), one in the World Men's Handball Championship (2003), another for water polo in the 2007 World Aquatics Championships and rowing in the 2010 World Rowing Championships. They have six for alpine skiing in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships (2003 and 2005) two in the World Taekwondo Championships (2007 and 2011) and finally the Davis Cup in 2005. They have also hosted quite a few major sporting events like the 1979 Mediterranean Games, 1987 Summer Universiade, 2000 World Rowing Championships, 2007 World Table Tennis Championships, 2009 World Men's Handball Championship, as well as several European Championships.

But when it comes to international sporting events, it does not get any bigger than the Olympics. Croatia first joined the Olympics in 1992 and have sent athletes in both Summer and Winter Games. They took home 23 Summer Olympics medals (6 gold, 7 silver and 10 bronze) and 11 Winter Olympics medals (4 gold, 6 silver and a bronze).

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Popular sports of Croatia

Regional or Traditional Sports

  • Picigin — a traditional water sport from Croatia in which the aim is to prevent a small ball from touching the surface of the water.

Croatia's Sporting Success

  • Winners of World Men's Handball Championship (2003)
  • Runners-up at the FIFA World Cup (2018)
  • Third place at the FIFA World Cup (1998, 2022)

Great athletes from Croatia

  • Goran Ivanišević (Tennis)
  • Marin Čilić (Tennis)
  • Luka Modrić (Football) — 2018 Ballon d'Or winner and Croatia's most capped player

Croatia Sports trivia

  • Croatia is the second-smallest country by population, after Uruguay, to ever reach a FIFA World Cup final.

Croatia at major events

Past sporting events events hosted in Croatia

  • 1979 Mediterranean Games
  • 1987 Summer Universiade
  • 2000 World Rowing Championships
  • 2007 World Table Tennis Championships in Zagreb
  • 2009 World Men's Handball Championship
  • 2025 World Handball Championship (Men) - co-hosted with Denmark, Norway.
  • 2026 IHF Men's and Women's Beach Handball World Championships — Zagreb, 23-28 June 2026

Upcoming sporting events in Croatia

  • Judo Grand Prix - This event will be held in Zagreb between 13-15 November, 2026
  • Ice Hockey U20 World Championship - This event will be held in Sisak between 10-16 January 2027
  • UEFA Women's Futsal Euro Championship - This event will be held in Osijek between 14-21 March 2027
  • Artistic Gymnastics World Cup - This event will be held in Osijek between 8-11 April 2027
  • Artistic Gymnastics World Cup - This event will be held in Osijek between 6-9 April 2028

Annual sporting events held in Croatia

  • Croatia Rally — round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), held since 1974 and confirmed on the WRC calendar through 2027
  • Zagreb Marathon — run every October since 1992, including marathon, half marathon and 10K races
  • Wings for Life World Run — global charity run held annually in Zagreb since the mid-2010s

Sporting Facilities in Croatia

  • Stadion Poljud, Split — capacity 33,987, home of Hajduk Split, Croatia's largest football stadium
  • Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb — capacity 24,851 (reduced from 35,423 after 2020 earthquake damage), home of Dinamo Zagreb and the Croatia national team
  • Stadion Gradski vrt, Osijek — capacity 18,856
  • Arena Zagreb — Croatia's largest indoor arena, seating up to 16,500 for basketball and 15,200 for handball/ice hockey, built for the 2009 World Men's Handball Championship