UMAG TROPHY: Champions League in the category of children’s smiles and unforgettable memories
The Umag Trophy is nowadays considered the biggest and highest quality tournament for young footballers in the region and one of the biggest in Europe, but the large turnout is a result of the tradition, organisation and innovation that are the pillars of the Umag Trophy, which will celebrate its tenth anniversary in 2025.
It started with two age categories in one location, the Katoro pitch, which to this day remains an important piece in the mosaic of an authentic Umag Trophy experience for every participant.
After the first tournament in 2016, the Umag Trophy has grown moderately, organically, with sure steps. Among the foreign teams that have made their mark among the participants of the football feast in Istria, MTK Budapest was soon joined by Crvena Zvezda, Inter and Benfica.
The potential of the Umag Trophy was soon recognised by the local community. The Umag Tourist Board has been supporting the project since the third edition, because over the years the football tournaments organised by B4 have grown beyond the strictly sporting competitions. Players, coaches, club representatives, parents and other supporters, whose total number has reached up to 20,000 per edition, enjoy an increasingly rich accompanying programme in the form of an opening ceremony at the ATP Stadium Goran Ivanišević, children’s entertainment, live music evenings and a closing ceremony.
Despite the expansion and the many giants from Italy (Juventus, AC Milan, Internazionale Milano, Hellas Verona), Spain (Barcelona), England (Arsenal), Portugal (Benfica), Serbia (Crvena Zvezda, Partizan) and Austria (Red Bull Salzburg) that attend the tournament every year, the Umag Trophy will always remain a tournament for all. We will continue to build, prepare and invest with the desire to offer young Slovenian footballers the opportunity to play against the biggest clubs in the world close to home and to test their skills against their peers from many other countries. All this effort is ultimately rewarded with countless children’s smiles on and off the pitches in Umag.