The sports communities of Pula, Buja, Umag, Rovinj, Labin, Pula, Poreč and Medulin have received eight new minibus vehicles. The keys were handed over this morning at a ceremony held in Pula, above the Arena, for an investment worth a total of 312,800 euros, fully financed by Istria County.
The vehicles are eight new Opel Zafira L2H1 Edition minibuses, manufactured in 2026. Each vehicle has nine passenger seats and an automatic transmission, with an individual value of 39,100 euros. The keys were handed over by Istrian County President Boris Miletić and the President of the Istria County Sports Community, Mladen Pavićević.
County President Boris Miletić stated that transport has long been a concrete problem for sports clubs. He emphasised that today's handover does not mark the end of the programme, but is only the beginning. Miletić recalled that a few years ago, between 300,000 and 350,000 euros were allocated annually for sport, whereas today the figure is approximately 1.8 million euros, meaning that spending on sport has increased five to six times.
The county has introduced a number of other support programmes for sport in recent years. These include the Sports Fund intended for the education and training of coaches, a programme supporting investments in sports infrastructure in cities and municipalities, and the financing of coach salaries through the Istria County Sports Community. The Sports Fund has educated 430 coaches.
Mladen Pavićević announced the continuation of the vehicle purchase programme. He stated that the number of vehicles will gradually increase and that the needs of sports clubs in Istria are significant. He expressed hope that cities and municipalities will also participate in vehicle purchases in the future. Pavićević also referred to a recently signed contract with the Juraj Dobrila University in Pula.
Representatives of the sports communities that received the vehicles highlighted that the minibuses will facilitate the daily organisation of travel. They stressed that the vehicles will reduce transport costs and enable easier planning of trips to competitions and away matches. The vehicles are expected to help sports clubs organise transport for training, preparation and competitions.
