Pétanque in Slovenia

Pétanque - known locally as petanka - is organized in Slovenia by the Zveza društev petanke Slovenije (ZDPS), the Slovenian Petanque Federation, based in Ljubljana. Since its founding in the late 1990s, the federation has grown from a handful of clubs into a nationally organized sport with teams competing at FIPJP World and European Championships, and it currently leads the regional Centrope Cup standings.

History

ZDPS was established in 1999, and Slovenia became a member of the Fédération Internationale de Pétanque et de Jeu Provençal (FIPJP) the following year, in 2000. The country's first national (state) championships were organized that same year, and 2000 also marked the first time both a men's and a women's Slovenian team competed at a World Championship. In the six years following the federation's founding, the number of clubs taking part in the state league and tour competitions grew from 5 to 20, and the number of registered active players rose from 25 to 320.

International Results

The men's national team broke into the continent's top 16 for the first time at the 2011 European Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden. It followed that with the program's best-ever World Championship result the next year, finishing in the top 16 at the 2012 World Championship in Marseille, France. The women's team's best results have been two ninth-place finishes at the World Championship, with a 13th-place finish in its most recent appearance.

Federation Contact

ZDPS is registered at Linhartova cesta 47, 1000 Ljubljana (Slovenian business registry AJPES, tax number 35978040). President Žan Rode can be reached at predsednik@zdps.si or by mobile at +386 31 706 003, with the federation's FIPJP-listed contact channel at slovenie@fipjp.com.

The Centrope Cup

Slovenia fields a team in the Centrope Cup, a recurring Central European pétanque tour open to any player holding a license from a FIPJP-recognized federation, alongside Czechia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. As of the latest published rankings, Slovenia leads the overall standings, ahead of the Czech Republic in second place. Full fixtures and standings are published at centropecup.eu.

National Competition Calendar

ZDPS publishes its full season fixture list at zdps.si/tour-2026. The 2026 domestic calendar includes the mixed doubles state championship, hosted by Vila Ana on the courts at Bšk Polje with 38 teams entered; the mixed triples state championship, held 17 May in Čatež with 26 teams (originally scheduled for 16 May but postponed a day for poor weather); and the men's and women's triples state championship, held 30 May at ŠD Janče, with 9 women's teams entered.

Hribovci won the 2026 mixed triples state championship title in Čatež, continuing a strong run of results in the current season. We could not independently verify the winners of the mixed doubles or the men's/women's triples state championships.

Clubs & Where to Play

ZDPS is headquartered in Ljubljana, where several active clubs are based, including Klub De Petanque Bobri and Klub De Petanque Brdo. The Ljubljana area is also home to Balinarsko športno društvo Fužine, based at Brodarjev trg 10 (renamed from Balinarski športni klub Fužine in October 2022, and also active in bowling and finger-ball), and Petankarsko športno društvo Hribovci, registered in nearby Dol pri Ljubljani since 2007 - both confirmed via multiple independent Slovenian business-registry listings, though further detail on either club's activities could not be independently verified. Casual pétanque is also commonly played in parks and public boulodromes across the capital and other Slovenian towns, reflecting the sport's reputation as a low-barrier game suitable for all ages.