The northern Croatian Adriatic port city of Rijeka was awarded the title of European City of Sport 2022 by the European Capitals and Cities of Sport Federation (ACES) at a ceremony in Turin on Monday.

The Brussels-based non-profit organisation awards titles in several categories, and Rijeka received the title as a medium-sized city of between 25,000 and 500,000 people. The title was presented by the founder of ACES Europe, Gian Francesco Lupatelli, and accepted by the Deputy Mayor of Rijeka, Sandra Krpan.

In her speech, Krpan described Rijeka as a university city, a city of knowledge and science, and a city whose residents are very sports-minded. She said that the city’s sports infrastructure was built to meet the needs of its residents as well as of many sports clubs and associations.