Football Supporters Europe, its network of Fans’ Embassies, and representatives of the ‘Fans Welcome 2024’ project, run by our partners Koordinationstelle Fanprojekte (KOS), will meet in Hamburg on 1st and 2nd December to finalise plans for their cooperation ahead of UEFA EURO 2024 next summer.
Organised by the KOS and local fanprojekts* in each host city, and supported by the German Ministry of Interior, the ‘Fans Welcome 2024’ project will establish contact points for visiting supporters across each of the ten host cities throughout the tournament. By visiting the designated contact points, fans will be able to receive relevant information about match days, the city, and local fan culture.
The meeting will strengthen the understanding and cooperation between Fans’ Embassies and the ‘Fans Welcome 2024’ project over the coming weeks and months. FSE, Fans’ Embassies from Belgium, England, France, Germany, Scotland, Spain, and Wales will be in attendance, joined by UEFA, EURO 2024, host cities, and the German Ministry of Interior.
During the two days of meetings in Hamburg, a framework for running Fans’ Embassies in Germany will be outlined and finalised, including lessons learnt from previous tournaments and taking on board expectations for UEFA EURO 2024. The cooperation will benefit the Fans’ Embassies teams as they plan their preparatory visits to the Host Cities where their nations will play next year.
The meeting also serves as an opportunity for FSE to present its Fan.Tastic Finals project, a continuation of the Fan.Tastic Females exhibition, which will tour around the host cities during the tournament, supported by Stiftung Fußball & Kultur EURO 2024.
FSE’s National Teams’ Fans Coordinator, Jussi Hartikainen, said: “Given the clear shared objectives and principles between Fans’ Embassies and ‘Fans Welcome 2024’, we’re delighted to be working with our colleagues from the KOS in the lead-up to and during UEFA EURO 2024 next summer. The meeting brings together Fans’ Embassies and KOS to learn more about each other’s operations and plans for next summer.
“Many national team supporters will have travelled to Germany following their country before, but every tournament brings its own unique circumstances and challenges. Because of this, combining our experience of multiple past tournaments with the local knowledge of KOS and fan projects in each host city will complement the delivery of both FSE’s Fans’ Embassies programme and the ‘Fans Welcome 2024’ project.”
Following the meeting’s conclusion, attention will turn to the EURO 2024 Fan Forum jointly organised by FSE and EURO 2024 GmbH and to be held in Frankfurt in January 2024. Preparatory visits by each of the participating Fans’ Embassies to their respective host cities will follow quickly after that in early Spring.
*Social education organizations across Germany which work with young football supporters.