In 2025 Istria County will hold the prestigious title of European Region of Sport, awarded by the Brussels-based non-profit association ACES Europe, the Office of Istria County Prefect Boris Miletić said on Saturday.

Two weeks ago, an ACES Europe delegation arrived in Istria for a two-day visit to evaluate Istria’s candidacy, touring the sports infrastructure in Labin, Pula and Rovinj and meeting with local athletes and coaches.

A presentation was held to explain in detail why Istria County deserves the title.

Miletić said he was proud that the county would be the European Region of Sport in 2025, noting that the region boasted numerous sport successes, top athletes and coaches as well as quality sports infrastructure, in which more than €66 million was invested in the past ten years.

Allocations for sport by the county and ten Istrian cities for the period 2020-2025 amount to €71.5 million, he said.

Istria County has 32,773 registered athletes of whom 17,000 are engaged in competitive sports, around 600 sport clubs and associations, 1,200 active coaches, 700 referees and supervisors, and more than 2,000 sport workers, he said.

In addition to professional athletes, a large number of people of all age groups engage in amateur sport, he said.

For Istria County to be a candidate for the title of European Region of Sport, it had to have at least two cities that had held the title of European City of Sport, and that title has so far been held by Buzet and Umag.

This year’s holder of the title of European Region of Sport is the Italian region of Valle d’Aosta, while next year the title will be held by Veneto.