The real winners of this event are the minorities – as FUEN Vice President Bahne Bahnsen put it at the awards ceremony following the women’s and the men’s finals of EUROPEADA 2024 in Flensburg on Saturday, 6 July.

But there were also winners on the football field, as Südtirol scored an astounding 11 goals to the one of Nordfraschlönj in the final of the women’s tournament, and, in a heated match, Friúl overcame Occitánia  by two goals to none in the men’s final.

Overall, the fifth edition of EUROPEADA, organised by the Federal Union of European Nationalities and hosted by the Danes in Germany, the Frisians, the Sinti and Roma in Schleswig-Holstein and the Germans in Denmark proved to be a very successful event, with a record number of teams (24 men’s, 9 women’s), 900 players and 14 venues in the Danish-German border region.

"Overall, I am very satisfied. I was particularly pleased that all the teams across the board said that they felt very comfortable with the clubs and in the accommodation and were in good hands with the volunteers. The great interest shown by spectators was also very pleasing. We were very well received by the local minority population. The sporting standard was good, and this time the women's tournament, which was bigger than ever before with nine teams, deserves special mention. It was also a very successful EUROPEADA in terms of media coverage; we attracted a lot of attention. The opening and the cultural day went very well, but the cultural aspect should perhaps be emphasised even more in the future" – says EUROPEADA 2024 Project Manager Ruwen Müller after the finals.  

"In my view, EUROPEADA 2024 is a great success. We are seeing that the popularity and attention are growing. Interest in minorities is growing thanks to EUROPEADA. With our joint event, we were able to get the message out that four minorities work well together here. I hope that this can also be an example for other minorities. On the other hand, you can feel here on site that interest in other minorities in Europe is also growing. I am very pleased about that", adds Gösta Toft, Vice President of FUEN.

IMPRESSIVE FINAL DAY OF THE EUROPEADA 2024

In the morning, continuous heavy rain ensured that the pitch at the Manfred Werner Stadium in Flensburg-Weiche would be naturally watered, but at the same time there were slight doubts as to whether the two finals would end with a great atmosphere.

The sky brightened in time and the sun accompanied the two finals for the most part.

Around 750 spectators - mainly delegations from the various minorities - watched the extemely entertaining matches. 

Südtirol's women superior final winners

The women's final turned into a demonstration of modern women's football. The South Tyroleans, who had already won the tournament the first time a women's tournament was organized in 2016, were superior to their opponents from North Frisia in every respect: technically at the highest level, tactically disciplined, always on the ball and early in their counter-pressing.

This paid off for them early on, as Sonja Kiel scored in the second minute after a corner to make it 1:0. She was the one who controlled South Tyrol's play from midfield and provided important impetus for the build-up play.

Alexandra Stockner's stunning long-range shot into the top right-hand corner of the goal was unstoppable for Mia-Lotte Petersen in the Nordfraschlönj goal: 2:0.

Hannah Bielak opened her remarkable scoring run this morning with the 3:0.

After a short period of pressure, a failed header defence by Eyke Kofler Margesin and an uncertainty in defence, Suna-Marie Lelonek reduced the deficit to 1:3.

Another dream goal from Stockner from the corner of the penalty area made it 4:1, and the goal-scoring Bielak increased the lead to 5:1 in injury time of the first half.

The North Frisians continued to fight bravely, but were unable to find any playful means against their opponents, who were compact in defence and midfield.

Manuela Ladstätter as a strong centre-back and Sonja Kiel as a distributor of the game left the North Frisians no opportunities in their part of the pitch.

Instead, Bielek scored a hat-trick within eleven minutes from the 46th to 52nd minute, her five goals in the match plus three more before that crowned her as the top scorer at EUROPEADA 2024.

Nordfraschlönj now had nothing left to oppose: Goals from Sonja Kiem (73rd) and Alexandra Gruber (80th) made it 10:1, before Kiem scored her third goal in the final minute to make the final score 11:1.

Another remarkable moment was Margesin's substitution in the 80th minute, when her teammates formed a guard of honour to mark her retirement from active football.

In view of the heavy defeat, some of the Nordfraschlönj players lay exhausted and certainly disappointed on the ground after the final whistle.

The final was carefully refereed by Julie Alsbro Thomsen, the young, talented Danish referee, who clearly had a wealth of experience from various leagues and international assignments.

Stenogram

Südtirol - Nordfraschlönj  11:1

Manfred Werner Stadium, Flensburg-Weiche

Goals

  1:0 2nd Sonja Kiem

  2:0 19th Alexandra Stockner

  3:0 22nd Hanna Bielak

  3:1 39th Suna-Marie Lelonek

  4:1 44th Alexandra Stockner                       

  5:1 45:3 Hannah Bielak

  6:1 46. Hannah Bielak

  7:1 52nd Hannah Bielak

  8:1 57th Hannah Bielak

  9:1 73rd Sonja Kiem

10:1 80 Alexandra Gruber

11:1 90 Sonja Kiem (EM)

Referee

Julie Alsbro Thomsen; Rami Ahmed, Jørgen Lauritzen; Nikolaj Ibsen

Bielak with eight goals, (of which 5 in the final alone) top scorer, in the men's competition Norbert Kriska of the Slovaks in Hungary with 14 goals.

FUEN’s Fair Play prize was awarded to the Burgenlandkroaten. In their game against Team Koroska, after a serious injury of the opposing team’s goalkeeper, they decided to end the match in teh 82nd minute, even though they were down 0:1.

Deserved winner and unpleasant scenes in the men's final

The final between Occitània and Friûl, first-time participants in the EUROPEADA, was nowhere near the quality and entertainment value of the previous women's final.

The match was far more combative, at times characterised by exaggerated toughness, with the team from northern Italy recognisably superior.

Before kick-off, the Occitans and the approximately 800 spectators paid tribute to their recently deceased coach.

The first half ended goalless. Friûl failed to score despite having the upper hand. Their attacks were mostly dangerous on the left side, where Enrico Ruffo, who was a strong dribbler and superior runner, repeatedly found his teammates in the penalty area, but without any tangible success.

For Occitània, it was above all the tall centre-back Vincent Dupuis, who defused many opposition attacks and provided some relief, and goalkeeper Théo Barthéas who made some outstanding saves. Especially in the 19th minute, when he saved a free-kick from a good 25 metres from the bottom right corner.

His counterpart, on the other hand, was virtually unemployed and often had to do little more than keep the ball in play.

Occitània changed the keeper for the second half. Rudy Seghouane proved after five minutes that he was in no way inferior to his colleague.

A preliminary decision was made in the 54th minute: a penalty kick by Niccola Tonizzo was brilliantly saved by Seghouane, but the ball then bobbled around in the penalty area. Tonizzo capitalised on his second chance and scored a well-deserved 1:0.

Further opportunities for the northern Italians went unused, and there was less pressure from the left flank - until the 82nd minute, when Ruffo crossed into the penalty area and Andrea Osso Armellino, who had just come on as a substitute, increased the lead to 2:0.

After a serious foul by Leonardo Campana, players from both sides went at each other for a scuffle. Even after the game, the two sides had not really calmed down, but in the end exchanged a friendly and conciliatory high-five before the award ceremony.

Match report

Occitània - Friûl 0:2

Goals

0:1 53rd Niccola Tonizzo

0:2 81st Francesco Costa

Yellow cards: Occitania 3, Friûl 2 / Red card: Occitania 2, Friûl 1

Referee

Lennart Kund; Daniel Feil, Lutz Jessen; Sascha Fricke   

Additional awards

On behalf of the more than 200 volunteers, without whom the major EUROPEADA event could hardly have been organised so successfully, Jonna, Pia and Damiano received a certificate and commemorative medal from the President of the State Parliament, Kristina Herbst.

The team of referees received an honour from the Mayor of Flensburg, Fabian Geyer, on behalf of all the referees at EUROPEADA.

Dear friends of EUROPEADA, see you in four years!