One of the assistent coaches of the German national team is committed to the European Football Championship for autochthonous and national minorities and will take part in the draw on 10 December in Hadersleben.

It's a match! EUROPEADA is coming to the German-Danish border region in summer 2024. Mads Buttgereit knows football north and south of the border like no other. The 38-year-old is therefore the ideal ambassador for the European Football Championship for indigenous and national minorities.

"I am delighted to be an ambassador for EUROPEADA. It's an honour for me and when the request came, I didn't have to think about it for long, but accepted immediately," said Mads Buttgereit, who played in goal for IF Stjernen Flensborg, among others. His former home ground, the Engelsby-Centret in Flensburg, is one of the EUROPEADA venues. But Buttgereit also knows many of the other clubs and grounds in Denmark and Germany where the matches will be played next summer from his own experience. 

Buttgereit was born on 3 June 1985 in Esbjerg, Denmark. The son of a Danish mother and a German father grew up there and in Flensburg. Buttgereit initially played for TSV Glücksburg, as he attended the Danish school in Glücksburg. He later moved to IF Stjernen in Flensburg, where he graduated from the Danish secondary school, Duborg-Skolen, in the summer of 2006.

The keeper returned to Denmark and became a coach, coaching the juniors of Fuglebakken KFUM in Aarhus and Aalborg BK, among others. Alongside his coaching education, which he completed with a UEFA A licence, he studied Danish, mathematics, sport and history to become a teacher.

From 2010 onwards, he worked as a teacher in Denmark, becoming a coach for the youth team of Danish first division club FC Midtjylland in 2013. Things moved quickly after that: he became the coach for standard situations of the professionals. Midtjylland won the Danish championship in 2018, Buttgereit also coached the Danish U18 and U20 national teams as an assistant coach before national coach Kasper Hjulmand appointed him to the coaching team of the Danish senior men's national team as an expert in set-piece situations. After UEFA EURO 2020, in which Denmark was only eliminated in the semi-finals, the then German national coach Hansi Flick brought Buttgereit to the DFB. Buttgereit has been the German national team's assistant coach for set-piece situations since 1 August 2021, experienced the World Cup in Qatar and is now in the midst of preparations for the European Championships in summer 2024.

"Of course, everything is geared towards the European Championships and as the EUROPEADA is taking place at the same time, I unfortunately won't be able to be there. However, I would like to do my bit to publicise the event in advance and wish the organisers and all participating teams an unforgettable experience," says Buttgereit, who himself once played for the Danish minority selection team.

The Danish minority is one of the local organisers of the tournament alongside the German minority in Denmark, the Frisians and Sinti and Roma in Schleswig-Holstein. The FUEN (Federal Union of European Nationalities), the umbrella organisation of the minorities, is responsible for organising the event.
The draw for EUROPEADA will take place on Sunday 10 December in Hadersleben, Denmark. The lots will be drawn at the SønderjyskE stadium. Buttgereit has already witnessed several games there and has already announced his attendance at the draw.

Photo: DFB/Philipp Reinhard