Split (GNP): The Plazma Youth Sport Games has celebrated its 30th anniversary in the Croatian coastal city of Split, marking three decades as Europe’s largest amateur sports event for children.
Nearly half a million young people from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia, and North Macedonia took part in qualifying rounds this year, with finals held across ten sports, ranging from chess to 3v3 basketball, over the course of a week in the city.
The event has drawn a wide circle of celebrity ambassadors over the years, including former Burnley manager Sean Dyche, former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic, and tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel, all of whom took part in this year’s chess exhibition alongside grandmaster Nigel Short and the region’s top young players.
Dyche, who singled out the girls’ mini-football final as a personal highlight, described the tournament as a brilliant initiative and said he was skeptical a similar program could take root in the United Kingdom given the regulatory and funding hurdles facing grassroots sports there.
Beyond the competition itself, organizers describe the Games as both a sporting event and a social project, with an emphasis on teamwork, collaboration, and encouraging children to set aside their phones. That mission traces back to its founder, Zdravko Maric, who launched the event in the aftermath of the Yugoslav breakup and the Bosnian war, driven less by ambitions of peacebuilding and more by concerns over drug use among Croatian youth at the time.
His brother, Slaven Maric, who has worked on the Games since their inception, said the focus has always been on social connection rather than results, adding that organizers have turned down partnership offers from esports brands in keeping with that philosophy.
The Games’ home in Split reflects the city’s deep sporting pedigree. Despite a population of only around 160,000, Split has produced champions across disciplines, from tennis great Goran Ivanisevic to NBA three-time champion Toni Kukoc, and even has its own Olympic walk of fame honoring 73 medal winners.
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Former Premier League player and manager Slaven Bilic, a Split native and Games ambassador, said the event’s continued success feels especially meaningful given the instability often associated with the region.
Organizers are now looking to expand the Games’ international footprint. North Macedonia competed for the first time this year, Ukrainian teams attended as invited guests, and discussions are reportedly underway with six additional countries about future participation.
Financial backing has grown alongside that ambition, with Coca-Cola, Topps, and Croatian telecom provider Telemach among the event’s sponsors, and eleven billionaires now associated with the Games in some capacity, several of whom have invested directly in its operations.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, whose organization also provides funding to the Games, praised the initiative as an example of top-tier sport reinvesting its resources into grassroots development.
The anniversary celebrations concluded Friday night with an exhibition football match between a Youth Sport Games select team and a group of international all-stars, including Claude Makélélé, Pavel Nedved, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, closing out the event’s 30th birthday week.
