UMAG TROPHY 2025
A Five-Week Highlight of the Tournament’s Decade
The 10th anniversary edition of the Umag Trophy 2025 was record-breaking in every way. After a year of preparations and five weeks of tournaments across seven age categories, the event, organized by the B4 agency, once again proved why many consider it one of Europe’s biggest and best-organized tournaments.
From the opening Thursday ceremony at the ATP Stadium Goran Ivanišević on March 6 to the final Sunday event on the main stage of the fan zone at the Stella Maris sports center on April 6, the Umag Trophy youth football tournament was the main attraction in northern Istria and a major event on the regional youth football scene for an entire month.
After 20 days of competition and more than 2,000 matches, we can now draw the line under Umag Trophy 2025—and under the tournament’s first decade, which continues to push the boundaries of the tournament experience for both participants and visitors year after year.
A good indicator of the scale of the Umag Trophy lies in the following numbers: over the course of five weeks, a total of 544 teams competed in 2,016 matches held at the Stella Maris sports center and four additional venues. With a combined 7,639 goals scored, 8,756 promising young footballers brought joy to their 1,050 coaches and at least 10,000 tournament visitors.
Of course, there were challenges too. Weather conditions, which we are not used to from the past nine editions, complicated the complex logistics of the tournament with twelve rainy days. The heroes of this tournament were also the drivers of the 15 buses, which represented an important piece of the mosaic created by the 30-strong organising team. When you add the referees, the competition supervisors, the catering and the production team, the figure rises to over 100. Of course, we should not forget the hoteliers, who provided over 40,000 overnight stays this year, and the local community, whose support is most visible in the development of the infrastructure, which has also taken a positive step in the run-up to this year’s event.
Teams from 14 countries added an international flavour to the tournament, including France for the first time and Atletico Madrid, the world’s football giants, making their debut at the tournament. They were joined by old friends FC Barcelona, Juventus, AC Milan, regional giants Hajduk Split, Dinamo Zagreb, Sturm Graz, Udinese and many more returnees or newcomers to Umag. The return of MTK Budapest was symbolic for a special reason – the winners of the first edition returned to the tournament after ten years and won first place in the U11 category.
The following teams have entered the history of the Umag Trophy with first places:
- U8 – AC Milan
- U9 – AC Milan
- U10 – AC Milan
- U11 – MTK Budapest
- U12 – Juventus
- U13 – NK Radomlje
- U14 – FC Koper
Of course, the Umag Trophy is much more than just a football tournament. More than 70 hours of accompanying programme proves it. This consisted of five opening ceremonies held every Thursday at the ATP Stadium Goran Ivanišević, five technical meetings for coaches and club officials before the start of the competition, daily live music concerts at the competition venue, the offer of our sponsors (R-Gol/Adidas, Gran Cereale, Barilla) and partners and local suppliers in the Istrska vas part of the fan zone, children’s football animation for the little ones and the closing ceremony. Alongside the prizes for the best performers, the traditional fair play prizes were awarded to teams and individuals who showed exemplary sportsmanship. The technical sponsor of the tournament, R-Gol, in collaboration with the official equipment supplier Adidas, ensured that the players were rewarded for their behaviour with a set of jerseys:
- U9 – BFK Dušanovac
- U11 – Tadej Pogačar (NK Bled)
- U10 – AC Trento
- U13/U14 – RNK Split
- U8/U12 – KV Mechelen
Alongside media attention in Slovenia, Croatia and other countries of the tournament participants, the content published on B4’s digital channels was the main contributor to the event’s exposure.In just over a month, Umag Trophy-related posts have garnered well over 6 million views. 24 live webcasts were broadcast and more than 14,000 photos were published. To relive the magic of the football month, you can view the content on B4 Slovenia’s Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and LinkedIn pages.
