"Lepoglava doesn't have Olympic winners, national champions, First Division teams or a grand stadium. Lepoglava has something else. The ACES Commission has recognised the efforts of Lepoglava over the years to become a town where people of all ages have access to sports," Mayor Marijan Skvaric told a press conference.
Skvaric said that the town had invested over seven million kuna (a million euros) in sport, recreation and sport infrastructure over the last ten years or so.
Every year ACES Europe, which is based in Brussels, awards the title of European Capital of Sport to cities with a population of more than 500,000, the title of European City of Sport to cities with a population of more than 25,000, and the title of European Town of Sport to towns with a population of under 25,000.
As a member of the European Union, Croatia has been invited to join ACES Europe, and Lepoglava is the first Croatian town to have applied and met the criteria for the title.
"Of nearly 9,000 residents of Lepoglava, 1,100 or 13.5 percent do sports or some form of recreation, and our goal is to increase their number to 20 percent," said the head of the local federation of sporting associations, Ivica Rudec.
The award-giving ceremony will be held in the European Parliament in Brussels on November 19.