Slovenia, with a population of only 2 million, produces a disproportionately high number of champion athletes. Success in sports and business share very similar underlying principles.
»A nation of sports fanatics. « That’s how Eurosport TV channel’s commentator described Slovenians during last year’s Tour of Slovenia cycling race. An exaggeration perhaps? Tadej Pogačar is the world’s best cyclist. Janja Garnbret is the world’s all-time best woman climber. Tina Maze is a record-breaking alpine skier. The Prevc family has no less than four top ski jumpers, with Peter and Nika having won the world cup. Luka Dončič is one of the biggest stars of the US NBA basketball league. Anže Kopitar is captain of the Los Angeles Kings NHL ice hockey team. Jan Oblak is one of football's best goalkeepers. Water sports has Slovenian athletes winning gold, silver and bronze medals at the latest European Canoe Slalom Championship. There are notable Slovenian volleyball and handball players, gymnasts, discus throwers, pole vaulters, and so on.
Since gaining independence, Slovenia has been among the countries winning the most medals per capita at the Olympic games. True, it is surpassed by Caribbean nations like the Bahamas, Granada, and Jamaica, but whereas they specialize in a few narrow disciplines, Slovenians excel at a whole variety of sports.
How does one explain this phenomenon? Firstly, a healthy lifestyle. A very large proportion of Slovenians feel the need to exercise regularly. Slovenia has the second largest share of the population with a membership in the Alpine association (first on the list is Switzerland). Secondly, a culture placing a high value on work discipline. And thirdly, history. Slovenia is a small nation with an obvious need to establish itself among peers with a much longer tradition of statehood. The nation with the highest number of Olympic medals per capita used to be Finland after the Scandinavian nation gained independence.
How does this translate to business? Fundamentally, sports are business. Basic salaries of champion athletes go well into the millions of euros per year. Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič top the list of best paid professional cyclists. NHL star Anže Kopitar earns around 7 million US dollars per year. According to sports media Luka Dončič is about to sign the largest contract in NBA history reaching a whopping 367 million US dollars. The Slovenian football prodigy Benjamin Šeško earns “only” round 5 million euros – yet he is still young at 21. And it is not only about the athletes. Slovenian born coaches, managers, physiotherapists, and other technical experts are also well established in the international sports arena. Aleksander Čeferin is the president of the European Union of Football Associations (UEFA). Čeferin was included in Politico’s 2021 list of most influential people in Europe and was recently profiled in the award-winning Apple TV documentary The War for Football.
Another aspect connecting sports and business are values. Strong determination, the need to excel, and attention to the tiniest detail, are common both to sports champions and best enterprises. While Slovenian SME’s may not enjoy the worldwide recognition of figures like Tadej Pogačar or Luka Dončič, many of them are leaders in their niches on a European, if not global scale. Whether in sports or business, the underlying principles of success remain strikingly similar.
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