PULA, 24 June 2019 – A football match will be played for the first time inside the Roman amphitheatre in Pula when Croatian and Bayern Munich legends meet in an exhibition tournament on 8 July.

The Pula Arena, which is the only remaining Roman amphitheatre to have four side towers and with all three Roman architectural orders entirely preserved, has hosted an ice hockey game in the past but this will be the first football match played inside it.

The project is a part of the strategic partnership between the Istria Tourist Board and FC Bayern München, one of the most famous football clubs in the world which won the Bundesliga this year with Croatian Niko Kovač at the helm.

The Istria Tourist Board said on Monday that some of the Bayern legends involved in the match will include, Ivica Olić, Paulo Sergio, Giovane Elber, Martín DeMichelis, Luca Toni, Klaus Augenthaler, and Marcel Witeczek, whilst the Croatian legends team will feature the likes of Stipe Pletikosa, Robert Jarni, Ivan Klasnić, Marjan Mrmić, Ardian Kozniku, Petar Krpan, Ognjen Vukojević and others.

The tournament will be played on a 40x20m futsal pitch which will be placed in the centre of the Roman Amphitheatre in Pula. The tournament will start with juniors playing an exhibition match before the two semi-final matches are played. Matches for 1st & 3rd will then be played.

During break between the games, entertainment for the visitors will include music and other performances. After the award ceremony there will be a gathering in the VIP Lounge Arena with a DJ entertaining guests.

Event schedule:

20:00 – 20:30 Juniors – Exhibition match

20:30 The event announcement with the partner and sponsors presentation

The team introduction (the two ”Vatreni” and Bayern München teams)

Tournament draw

20:50 – 21:15 First semi-final match

21:20 – 21:45 Second semi-final match

21:45 – 21:55 Music programme / Performance

22:00 – 22:25 Third match

22:30 – 22:55 Finals

Followed by: Awards ceremony, and after party with DJ entertainment in the VIP Lounge Arena.

Presale tickets can be purchased online at ticketshop.hr, at all Tisak media sales points and at the ticket office in front of the Arena on the day of the event.