When it all began, no one could have imagined what the Gothia Cup, a small youth tournament, would become. It was 1975, and the concept of a tournament to which teams from abroad would also be invited was not only unique, it would also prove to be extremely successful.

The old, yellowing piece of paper still exists on which we wrote down our vision for the new Gothia Cup. It states: ”The Gothia Cup shall be a meeting place for the young people of the world, regardless of colour, gender or religion.” This was written in 1981 and remains the guiding principle for the organisation to this day.

With more than one million participants from 149 countries and with a name as the world’s biggest youth event, we can justifiably claim that we have succeeded.