- Sajtóközlemény
At a press conference in the building of SVP in Bozen/Bolzano on Friday morning the Presidium of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) has presented the first practical details about the European Football Championship of the autochthonous national minorities in 2016. This so-called EUROPEADA will take place from 18 until 26 June in the Pustertal and Gadertal Valleys and is intended to not only bring the minorities of Europe closer together in a sportive manner, but also culturally.
The previous EUROPEADA 2012 at the Lusatian Sorbs in Germany has proven that a sportive event of this size can create a strong feeling of togetherness in the region. “Football can convey the message that the minorities have an added value”, said FUEN Vice President Martha Stocker at today’s press conference. The organiser of the 2012 EUROPEADA, FUEN Vice President Bernhard Ziesch, confirmed this impression. “The EUROPEADA was a crowd-puller for our own minority, but also for the region as a whole. We look forward to come to this cultural and multilingual event as participants and as excited fans”, said Ziesch.
Siegfried Stocker, the chairman of the South Tyrolean organisation committee underlined that his team consists of voluntary workers, and that they count on the help and infrastructure of the local associations. “It is our goal to organise a football tournament of high quality, where people can meet and experience the sport”, said Stocker. The venues are in the Pustertal Valley, where we have the opportunity to also involve the Gadertal Valley and therefore to actively involve the two minorities in South Tyrol, both the German and the Ladin minority.
FUEN President Hans Heinrich Hansen told that the first EUROPEADA in 2008 was organised as an experiment. By organising it, however, FUEN succeeded in creating more publicity for minority issues. “Still today, we have the major challenge of gaining recognition and respect for the autochthonous, national minorities in Europe”, said Hansen. This is also what the citizens’ initiative “Minority SafePack”, which was launched in Brixen in 2013, is all about. The European Commission rejected the initiative and the case is currently challenged at court. The struggle to create awareness in Europe for the minorities and their concerns continues. “A sportive, and cultural event like the EUROPEADA creates an opportunity to show that the minorities are part of the society”, noted FUEN Vice President Loránt Vincze.
“We look forward to the tournament in South Tyrol and the first call for both male and female teams. We can’t wait to see how many teams will compete with each other in 2016; after all the South Tyroleans are challenged, not just for their football skills as they are the defending champions, but also in realising a great programme around the tournament”, said FUEN President Hans Heinrich Hansen.
Source: SVP
Photo (left to right): FUEN Vice President Bernhard Ziesch, FUEN Vice President Martha Stocker, Chairman of the Organisation Team of the South Tyrolean EUROPEADA Siegfried Stocker and FUEN President Hans Heinrich Hansen
