The Finals of the 2023 Plazma Youth Sports Games (YSG) recently took place in Split, Croatia, attended by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) President Nasser Al-Khelaifi, in his capacity as a global Ambassador of the YSG programme. Stars from across world sport played padel and a football exhibition match, which concluded the Games.

Established by the UEFA Foundation for Children in 1996, the YSG spans Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia, and is the biggest amateur sports events for children and youth in Europe. It enables children to participate in free, organised sporting events to advance health, well-being, tolerance and ethical values. This year's edition, which commenced in January, included approximately 220,000 children across 300 municipalities in the three nations, competing in diverse sports like football, street basketball, handball, volleyball, and table tennis.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Nasser Al-Khelaifi said: “It is a great privilege to serve as a YSG Ambassador since 2022. From my own experience of playing sport from a young age, I know the positive effect it has, not only on individuals but also communities. Children are our future – and sport teaches the values of discipline, teamwork and work ethic – which are so important. As we saw during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, sport also brings the world together, regardless of background or circumstance. This is why the YSG is such a meaningful programme.”

Padel Showcase

As one of the world’s fastest growing sports, this year’s YSG Finals saw for the first time a showcase padel exhibition featuring Nasser Al-Khelaifi and former Croatian international football player and UEFA’s Chief of Football Zvonimir Boban, competing against new YSG Ambassador, former Serbian national team football player and ex Manchester United player Nemanja Vidić and former Bosnian national football player and international club coach Mehmed Baždarević. 

Growth of Padel

The padel showcase follows last week’s historic agreement, in which Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), alongside the International Padel Federation (FIP), the Professional Padel Association (PPA) and Damm, the owner of Setpoint Events which organises the World Padel Tour (WPT), announced the acquisition of WPT. As a result, QSI’s professional tour, Premier Padel, and WPT will merge into a single global professional padel tour named Premier Padel overseen by FIP. This announcement marks a significant step forward for padel as it continues its rapid global expansion. 

Football Exhibition

As part of the Finals, Al-Khelaifi also took part in an all-star exhibition football match alongside UEFA representatives, YSG ambassadors, some of the world’s leading names in football and YSG contestants. Players included: UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA’s Chief of Football Zvonimir Boban, UEFA Football Advisor Luis Figo, Argentinian former footballer Esteban Cambiasso, YSG Ambassadors Darijo Srna and Nemanja Vidić, French World Cup Winner Christian Karembeu and many others.

New YSG Ambassadors

Earlier in the programme, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, also took part in the announcement of new YSG Ambassadors, former Croatian international footballer Darijo Srna and former Serbian international player Nemanja Vidić.