Sport in Osijek – yesterday, today, tomorrow

The city of Osijek is the cradle of Croatian sport, where in the year 1784 Civil shooting association was founded, making it the first sports association in Croatia. It was founded almost a whole century before the time period which marked the establishment of modern sports as we know them today. The industrialization, as a European and world process, coincides with the establishment of modern sport in this region, therefore it is easy to note and follow the establishment and development of economical activities and corresponding sport activities in Osijek, Belisce, Zupanja, Vukovar… Today Osijek is a city with 246 sports clubs, over 5000 active athletes and a vast number of amateur athletes, children and students; therefore we can state that 30 % of the population is engaged in some form of sport. To make those possible necessary premises were created, sports infrastructure was built, co-financing of program content in nine areas regulated by law has been ensured, for which 38.457.200,00 kn (around 5 million euro) or 7.77 % of the total city budget has been provided. Sport funding, regarding to the city budget in the last 19 years, adds up to 7,03 %. Sport in Osijek, as a recognizable brand, does not want to be a burden to the economy, on the contrary, it wants to and it can offer a partnership with a “win-win” system, for which we have positive examples of company Saponia and VK Iktus (rowing), or company Zito and clubs for so called “basic” sports: AK Slavonija (athletics), GD Osijek (gymnastics), PK Osijek (swimming). Law regulations present a specific problem of sport financing, which to a large extend discourage investing in sport, as a result of repudiation of tax relieves and small amount of direct state budget for sport. The aim of this paper is to draw attention to the historical role of sport in Osijek and eastern Croatia, analyze the current situation, perceive some of the problems and offer possible solutions.