Hajduk Split will be faced with a bizarre travel situation in the Croatian HNL next season that just might not exist anywhere else in Europe!
As a result of fellow Dalmatian outfit NK Šibenik’s relegation from the premier division of the Croatian Football League (HNL), Hajduk Split’s closest away venue next season will be at Dinamo Zagreb’s Maksimir Stadium!
According to an article by Croatian online football portal gol.dnevnik.hr, the distance from Split to the Maksimir Stadium, located in Zagreb’s eastern suburbs, is approximately 414 kilometres.
The ‘Bili’ will be making the trek to the Maksimir on no less than four occasions next season, as both Dinamo Zagreb and NK Lokomotiva will be co-tenants next season while the new Kranjčević Road Stadium is being built across town.
Longest trip almost 700 kms!
Despite the entire land mass of the Republic of Croatia being able to fit inside the tiny Australian state of Tasmania, due to the unique horseshoe shape of Croatia, Hajduk will need to travel an astonishing 690 kilometres to get to its furthest destination, to the eastern Croatian city of Vinkovci, where the newly promoted Vukovar 91 will be playing its home games!
Incidentally, Vinkovci is a mere 20 kilometres from Vukovar, but the newly promoted club does not have the adequate infrastructure in place for the elite division of the HNL. A problem that is all too common with Croatian football at the moment.
The distance to Osijek – which is 689 kilometres from Split’s Poljud Stadium – and Vinkovci would be shorter in kilometres via neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the team almost certainly travels by highway exclusively through Croatian territory.
Below is the list of HNL cities – and their approximate distances from Split’s Poljud Stadium – where Hajduk’s players will be playing in season 2025/26:
- Zagreb (Maksimir) – 414 km
- Gorica – 415 km
- Rijeka (Rujevica) – 417 km
- Varaždin – 491 km
- Koprivnica – 508 km
- Pula – 521 km
- Osijek – 689 km
- Vinkovci (Vukovar) – approx 690 km.
See related story: The Champions of Croatia – Rijeka