April 21, 2022 - Đakovo is one of the hosting cities of the Ghetto Games Euroleague, a unique street football tournament. It was established as part of the "Medicines for Europe's Ghettos" initiative, with the main idea being the use of street sports as "medicine" for underdeveloped areas in Eruope.
It is supported by the European Union's Erasmus+ program in cooperation with some of the largest street sports organisations in Eruope, including Ghetto Games from Latvia, DGI from Denmark, Fryshusetfrom Sweden, Malta BMX from Malta and the Estonian Street Sports Federation.
As Glas Slavonije writes, the Croatian portion of the tournament will take place at Strossmayer Square in Đakovo, starting on Friday, 22 April at 5 pm. The competition itself takes place in a cage (which is approximately 18 meters long and 10 meters wide), and three such cages will be ready for the competition. Two age groups are participating in the competition, one including ages 16+ and the other focusing on those younger than 16. There will also be a special category for girls/women. As for the entertainment aspect, a competition with the best eight freestylers from this part of Europe is planned. Online qualifications have taken place for this part of the tournament. Additionally, there will be a "1 v 1" competition in a specialized cage, smaller than the others.
The tournament is held in nine other EU cities (Amsterdam, Budapest, Prague, Copenhagen, Berlin, Warsaw, Rome…), which means that Đakovo has now taken a spot on this prestige list as one of the great ones. The arrival of numerous sports participants, clubs, players and influencers from Slavonia is expected. The competition will be live streamed worldwide, and the event will be broadcast on many channels on social networks.
The partners include the EU, Ghetto Games, the City of Đakovo, the Tourist Board of the City of Đakovo, as well as Rafael Spajić, the man who brought Ghetto Games to Đakovo in the first place, after having played street football for over 17 years.
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