Last weekend, the 2017 age group triumphed at the prestigious PIRAN TROPHY, giving us another reason to learn more about the club and introduce this young and promising football team to you in greater detail.

Our interviewee was Mr. Žiga Petrović, president of NK FENIX, who told us the following about his club:


“I’m Žiga Petrović, president of NK Fenix from Ljubljana. I oversee the club’s development, the organization of the football academy and the work of our teams. I’m involved with the club practically every day. The greatest satisfaction for me is seeing the children improve and seeing our work pay off on the pitch.

I founded NK Fenix in 2021. We had quite ambitious goals from the outset, even though we were still a small club at the time. We wanted to create an environment where football would be accessible to every child, while also developing a high-quality competitive academy.

A huge amount of work has gone into this, and I’m delighted that the initial idea has grown into such a big story.

We grew very quickly. Gradually, we expanded our football school, opened new branches and developed competitive teams. Today, we operate at numerous locations in Ljubljana and the surrounding area, while our main competitive academy is based in Vič.

In just five years, we have reached a level we could only have dreamed of at the beginning.

We currently have more than 1,000 children, from the youngest age groups all the way up to the U19 team. We operate at numerous locations in Ljubljana and the surrounding area. We offer both recreational and competitive programmes because we want football to be accessible to every child, regardless of their ability or ambitions.

It would be difficult to single out just one. As president, I’m most proud that we have managed to build a club with so many children. When it comes to sporting results, however, our 2017 age group definitely stands out.

The boys have been playing together for about three years, regularly beating the strongest Slovenian teams and achieving excellent results abroad. This isn’t the success of a single tournament, but the result of many years of work.

Very much so. At home matches, it’s easy to get the impression that you’re good, but at a strong international tournament you quickly see where you really stand. The children gain experiences they can’t get in regular training sessions.

The best thing is when they realize that they can compete on equal terms with players from the biggest European clubs.

Umag Trophy, without a doubt, where we knocked Barcelona out in 2025 and, a year later, beat AC Milan 4–3. I’d also especially mention this year’s Piran Trophy, which we won with a 5–2 victory over Triglav in the final.

Results like these confirm that even a smaller club can compete with the biggest football academies through hard work.

We want to play against the strongest possible opponents and include even more of our teams in international tournaments. We are also planning to enter several teams in Umag Trophy 2027. We’re not interested just in collecting trophies.

What matters to us is that the children improve through challenging matches and gain experience for the future.

Our goal is to build one of the best football academies in Slovenia. We want all our teams from U15 to U19 to compete in Slovenia’s top league, regularly challenge for the top of the table and win national championships.

At the same time, we want to continue developing our younger age groups and create a system in which our players can progress from their first steps in football to the highest level of youth football.

Of course, we follow AFT and I think it’s a very interesting project. Mainly because it brings together tournaments, results and rankings from different countries in one place. Our 2017 age group is currently fifth in the regional AFT rankings.

Seeing Fenix among clubs like Crvena zvezda, Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk is certainly a wonderful recognition of our work.

Above all, it helps a wider football audience learn about our results and our work. Big clubs are already well known because of their names, while smaller clubs have to build their reputations through hard work and results.

AFT gives us the opportunity to introduce ourselves beyond Slovenia as well. I think that’s very beneficial for all ambitious football academies.

The biggest advantage is that it connects clubs and makes it easier to access high-quality tournaments. At the same time, rankings and results provide extra motivation. Still, we must remember that we’re talking about children’s football.

Results are important, but it’s even more important that children enjoy themselves, improve and develop a love of football. That must always come first.”