The founding of the club and the official "adoption" of the tournament. When on May 25, 2010, Bogdan founded NK Adriatic, the "First Steps" tournament naturally came under the auspices of the new club and became its trademark.

The interest of children in enrolling at Adriatic, as they say at the club, "exceeded all initial expectations" — and the tournament was one of the main reasons for that.

From humble beginnings to a festival with ten countries
What was a local competition of a few nearby football schools twenty years ago is now a real small festival. The numbers best illustrate this:
·    13th edition (2017) — five age categories, 94 teams
·    18th edition (2022) — 138 teams from eight countries, played for the first time at Poljud
·    20th edition (2024) — 132 male and 6 female teams
·    21st edition (2025) — a record 148 teams, over 2,600 children from ten European countries

The format has also changed. The tournament once gathered children born from 2006 to 2010, while today it is played using the "sliding" generation system — each year the oldest category drops out, and the youngest is added.

Currently, it is played in six male categories, from U-9 to U-14 (birth years 2012–2017), plus a special female category — the system varies from 6+1 on small fields for the youngest to 10+1 on large pitches 100×65 meters for older ages.

The number of locations where the tournament has been held has also increased. Matches were once played only in Split, Dugopolje, and Klis.

Today, "First Steps" covers the entire area — Trogir, Solin/Vranjic, Stobreč, Dugopolje, Kaštel Stari, and in Split itself, it is played at three locations (FESB, Youth Park, and even Poljud).

Who comes to First Steps
The list of clubs that have participated in this tournament over two decades reads almost like a who's who of European football: Bayern Munich, PSV, Juventus, AS Roma, Lazio, Red Bull Salzburg, Sturm Graz, VfB Stuttgart, Honved, CSKA Sofia, along with regular guests from the region — Dinamo Zagreb, Hajduk, Maribor, Olimpija, Domžale, Zrinjski, Međugorje, schools from Romania and Moldova.

For the jubilee 22nd edition in 2026, the arrival of Manchester United, Jagiellonia Białystok, and Peterborough United has been announced.

The tournament is also a kind of trampoline for young talents. Through "First Steps," former representatives Marko Livaja and Nikola Vlašić, as well as Tonio Teklić, today one of the best players in the HNL in the jersey of Varaždin have passed — and Bogdan happily tells the anecdote that there is hardly a tournament Teklić has not finished as the top scorer or player.

Hajduk as a synonym for "First Steps"
If there is one club that has marked the history of this competition, it is undoubtedly Hajduk. The results of recent editions clearly confirm this:
·    2022 (18th edition): Hajduk won three categories, one each for Juventus, Dinamo, and CSKA Sofia
·    2024 (20th edition): Hajduk three categories, Dinamo two, Lokomotiva one; in the girls' category, ŽNK Hajduk triumphed
·    2025 (21st edition): Hajduk and Lokomotiva each won two categories, Dinamo one, and the biggest surprise was Stari Aerodrom — a football school from Montenegro that defeated Roma in the final; in the girls' category - Hajduk celebrated again

Last year's tournament — 21st "First Steps" (October 16–19, 2025)
Last year's edition was the most massive in the history of the tournament — 148 teams, over 2,600 young footballers from ten European countries, played on pitches in Trogir, Dugopolje, Stobreč, Vranjic, and three stadiums in Split.

Along with local forces (Hajduk, Dinamo, Osijek, Istra, Lokomotiva, Gorica, Šibenik, Orijent, Rudeš, Solin, Primorac, Zadar) also participated Roma, Lazio, Stuttgart, Honved, Zimbru Chișinău, Rapid Bucharest, Maribor, Olimpija, Domžale, Krško, CSKA Sofia, and schools from Romania, Moldova, and Poland.

The titles were, as already mentioned, shared by Hajduk, Lokomotiva, Dinamo and the surprise of the tournament — Montenegrin Stari Aerodrom.

The awards for the best were presented by the president of Adriatic Franko Bogdan, the deputy mayor of Split Ivo Bilić, former first-team players of Hajduk Ivan Gudelj, Zoran Varvodić, Ardian Kozniku, and Stipe Balajić, as well as the tournament director Danijel Durdov.

Now, ahead of the jubilee 22nd edition waiting for Split and the surrounding area from October 15 to 18, 2026, "First Steps" is coming back bigger than ever — with Manchester United, Lazio, Stuttgart, and another ten European clubs on the starting list.

The tournament that originated from a modest football school in Vranjic is today, without a doubt, at the very top of children's football in this region.

The significance of this tournament has also been recognized by AFT and included in the highest rank of its system – in the ELITE TOUR. A small number of tournaments are in this category, but each of them certainly deserves it – for its impeccable organization, number of participants, and their "significance" for football as a whole, especially – children's football; as well as a clear vision of development.

To know what we mean when we say ELITE TOUR, read this TEXT