The Plazma Youth Sport Games (YSG), Europe's largest amateur sports event for children, is celebrating its 30th anniversary in Split, Croatia, this month. The event, described by some visitors as "the Davos of sport," brings together prominent figures from the worlds of sport and politics.
This year, nearly half a million young people from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia, and North Macedonia took part in qualifying rounds. The finals, spanning 10 sports from chess to 3v3 basketball, are held over a week in Split. The Games also focus on teaching children lessons in teamwork, collaboration, and encouraging them to engage in real-life interactions.
Among the notable figures present, grandmaster Nigel Short played simultaneous chess against 20 young players from the Balkans, who were coached by celebrities including former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic, former Burnley manager Sean Dyche, and tech billionaire Peter Thiel. Dyche praised the Games as "a brilliant, brilliant initiative."
Founded by Zdravko Maric after the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Games initially aimed to counter drug problems among Croatian youth. Slaven Maric, Zdravko's brother, stated that while it began as a lifetime project, they never anticipated its current scale, emphasizing its focus on social life and bringing children together.
The Games concluded on Friday night with a football match featuring a YSG team against an all-star lineup that included Claude Makélélé, Pavel Nedved, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.