It´s a match. From 28 June to 7 July 2024, the 5th edition of EUROPEADA, the European Football Championship for autochthonous and national minorities, will be held in Denmark and Germany. And the two media houses of the minorities in the region are involved as official media partners. Both Der Nordschleswiger - the German-language media house in Denmark and Flensborg Avis - the Danish-language media house in Germany, have agreed to support EUROPEADA.
"Of course we are there as a media partner when our minority is co-organiser and large parts of the tournament are held in North Schleswig. We are happy to support this. We are looking forward to this major event, which will draw attention to itself and the region this summer," says Gwyn Nissen (photo, r.), editor-in-chief of Der Nordschleswiger.
"We are looking forward to an extraordinary sporting event. With national teams from a large number of countries in Europe, we will experience a variety of European minorities and minority languages - all under the banner of football. Of course, we will be keeping a special eye on the national teams of the Danish minority and the Frisians, but as a Danish newspaper in South Schleswig, we are generally looking forward to the visit of the minorities. And we look forward to reporting on it in print and online," says Søren Munch (photo, l.), editor-in-chief, Flensborg Avis.
Both minorities, the German minority north of the border and the Danish minority south of the border, are among the organising minorities for EUROPEADA 2024, as are the Frisians and the regional association of Sinti and Roma in Schleswig-Holstein.
"I'm delighted that both media organisations have agreed to support our event," says Ruwen Möller, Project Manager at EUROPEADA gGmbH, who worked as a sports editor for Flensborg Avis for many years.
In addition to the traditional coverage of the event, the media partnership primarily focuses on topics where all parties can complement and support each other. It is also about working together to ensure greater visibility in the region and among minorities, as well as the majority population."
In concrete terms, this is planned through various measures. For example, there will be a press conference on EUROPEADA in one of the media centres in the run-up to the event.As part of the supporting programme for the European Minority Championships, both publishing companies will offer journalists accompanying EUROPEADA on site tours of the respective editorial offices in Flensburg and Apenrade.While EUROPEADA 2024 will receive visibility in the newspapers and on their online portals, the two media can look forward to visibility at the venues during the tournament week, for example.The concrete cooperation will be developed and filled with life in the near future.
Background information
EUROPEADA
EUROPEADA is the European Football Championship of the autochthonous national minorities in Europe. The tournament is a major sporting event with more than 1000 participants that combines fair competition and the excitement of a sports festival with the concerns of the autochthonous national minorities. In addition to the football matches, the cultural exchange between the minorities is also at the centre of the event.On and off the pitch, the focus is on fair play, respect, tolerance and international understanding.
The Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) is the largest umbrella organisation of autochthonous national minorities, nationalities and language groups in Europe. FUEN is the founder and coordinator of the tournament and organises EUROPEADA together with the local organisers. It has been held every four years since 2008, usually in the same year as the UEFA EURO.
Der Nordschleswiger
Flensborg Avis
Photo: Lars Salomonsen