269 Chapter 14 MONEY, POLITICS, AND SPORTS: STADIUM ARCHITECTURE IN INTERWAR SERBIA Dejan N. Zec he Rise of Sports in Early Twentieth-Century Serbia At the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries members of the Serbian economic, cultural and political elite made every efort to modernize the Kingdom of Serbia in order to bring the country from the periphery to the very heart of Europe. hey addressed the modernization of the economy, urbanization, political emancipation, transportation, health care, education, and life style in general. Serbs who had studied, conducted business or spent time in European countries shared with their fellow countrymen newly developed enthusiasm for modern art, literature, theater and opera as well as sports. In Europe, sports were becoming increasingly popular. 1 he romantic movement of new- age sporting chivalry and amateurism championed by Pierre de Coubertin (1863-1937) led to the rebirth of the Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. 2 By the end of the nineteenth century, sporting matches attracted large crowds of spectators and generated enormous public attention. Private schools in the United Kingdom and large, industrialized cities, both in the British Isles and on the continent, were the cradles of popular competitive sports. Rugby and soccer (association football) became favorite pastimes for European young people, especially students, across class lines. When the Serbian government sent outstanding students to study at the best European Universities in preparation for governmental leadership and service, many of them were drawn into the prevailing craze for sports. hey participated in sports, played for amateur clubs at their universities and on their return to Serbia became fanatical pioneers of sports. 3 Although quite resounding, their enthusiasm was insuicient to overcome all the obstacles of an essentially conservative Serbian society. Even ater a general acceptance of sports by the authorities and society, physical education in the Kingdom of Serbia was viewed primarily as a way to increase combat readiness and to maintain good health. Gymnastics, fencing, weightliting and stone throwing were considered socially beneicial sports. 4 Competitive