Split Sports Center: Finals of the 30th Season Underway
Until August 22, 1,224 participants from six countries will compete in ten disciplines in Split, featuring an All-Star spectacle with numerous world sports stars.
Until August 22, 1,224 participants from six countries will compete in ten disciplines in Split, featuring an All-Star spectacle with numerous world sports stars.
The international finals of the 30th season of the Plazma Youth Sports Games began on Monday, August 17, 2026, in Split. The competition, running until August 22, includes 1,224 competitors from six countries, all of whom secured first place at national championships in the five SIM member countries: Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia, and North Macedonia, along with children from Ukraine as guests.
Croatia is represented at the finals by an impressive number of teams and individuals. In the Coca-Cola Cup, MNK Futsal Pula (men's competition) and Arena Pula (women's) are competing, while NK Zadarnova from Zadar takes part in the Tommy small-sided football tournament. In the 3x3 Sprite Cup, Borik Bjelovar and Međimurje play in the men's competition, and Six Seven from Dugopolje and Šibenik in the women's.
In the GEN-I volleyball cup, Croatia is represented by Retfala from Osijek (men's) and Senfovi from Zagreb (women's). In beach volleyball, Dino & Petar from Split and Tuljani from Osijek compete in the men's, and Mile from Pula and Keri from Osijek in the women's competition.
In table tennis, at the Kinder Joy tournament, the men's competition features Andrej Tomić from Bjelovar, Marko Kardum from Kutina, David Los from Daruvar, and Dino Ljubić Lambaša from Šibenik; in the women's, Jana Grđan from Kutina, Antonija Lukić from Kutina, Ema Brodarić from Sisak, and Lota Livić from Šibenik.
In the HEP handball tournament, RK Ardiaei from Dubrovnik (men's) and ŽRK Metković (women's) defend Croatia's colors. At the Telemach Sports Day, in the 60-meter sprint, the male participants are Tom Kotenko from Sisak, Josip Juroš from Zagreb, Tin Kalšan from Prelog, Lovro Popijač from Koprivnica, Juro Marković from Požega, and Patrik Buntak from Velika Gorica; among women, Mia Šinjori from Varaždin, Franka Gamoš from Osijek, Sara Žarak from Gospić, Franka Sokač from Križevci, Sara Sunjski from Karlovac, and Maša Nekić from Rijeka.
In the graničar event, in the mixed competition, Pume from Varaždin and Vatreni topovi from Prelog are competing. In the Wiener osiguranje chess tournament, for Croatia in the men's category, Alan Katušić from Crikvenica, Viktor Gašparec from Đurđevac, Tin Biti from Zagreb, and Luka Martinović from Osijek play; in the women's category, Petra Vidić from Đakovo, Ema Ljubić Poljak from Zagreb, Ines Košar from Zagreb, and Matea Račević from Dubrovnik compete. In tennis, Croatia is represented in the men's competition by Mijo Markovica (Virovitica) and Ivan Pavao Jurić (Zagreb), while in the women's, Lena Fonai (Donji Miholjac) and Sara Hosjak (Varaždin).
The highlight of the finals takes place on August 20 and 21. On Thursday, August 20, the Riva hosts All-Star Day: a simultaneous chess exhibition with grandmasters Mariya Muzychuk and Nigel Short, the finals of the Sprite 3x3 Cup for men and women, and at 9 PM, the extinguishing of the Games' flame with a music and stage program, a drone spectacle, and a concert by Crvena jabuka.
On Friday, August 21, at the Split Croatian National Theatre, a ceremonial event will be held where the new ambassadors of the Games will be Goran Ivanišević, Ana Ivanović, and Magnus Brunner, the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration. At Prokurative, an interactive quiz titled "Become a Green SIM Ambassador" will follow, hosted by Dean Kotiga, part of the project "Zero Waste, Be Part of the Game, Let's Protect Our Planet," which the Games have been conducting with the Coca-Cola company for the fifth year.
The pinnacle of the 30th anniversary celebration will be the All-Star football match at Prokurative, where an All-Star team will face a team of Plazma Youth Sports Games participants. Among the guests are Aleksander Čeferin, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Luis Figo, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Alastair Campbell, Željko Obradović, Slaven Bilić, Ettore Messina, Predrag Mijatović, Nemanja Vidić, Aleksandar Kolarov, Šime Vrsaljko, Goran Dragić, Darijo Srna, Nemanja Matić, Dino Rađa, Nikola Karabatić, Marcel Desailly, Aitor Karanka, Mario Stanić, Christian Karembeu, Fernando Hierro, Radoslav Nesterović, Aljoša Asanović, and many others.
