Top Banner
RESPECT FAN CULTURE Fans’ Embassies at international tournaments Report of the FSE Fans’ Embassy Division on the work at UEFA EURO 2012™ in Poland & Ukraine
21
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Page 1: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

RESPECT FAN CULTUREFans’ Embassies at international tournaments

Report of the FSE Fans’ Embassy Division on the work at UEFA EURO 2012™ in Poland & Ukraine

Page 2: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

• 03Imprint

Football Supporters Europe eVCoordinating OfficeP.O. Box 50 04 0322704 HamburgGermany

Tel.: +49 40 68 914 881Fax: +49 40 38 699 868Email: [email protected]

Edited by: Garreth Cummins, Nikos Pogatsidis, Nicole Selmer

Contributors: Eugen Bantysh, Diana Batinic, Paul ‚Corky‘ Corkrey, Garreth Cummins, Tam Ferry, Michael Gabriel, Thomas Gassler, Thomas Herzog, Tine Hundahl, Krzysztof Maczka, Ken Malley, Garrett Mullan, Andrea Palmieri, Nikos Pogatsidis, Nicole Selmer, Medhi Tazraret

Photos: Konstantin Brizhnichenko, Carte, Paul ‚Corky‘ Corkrey, Michael Gabriel (FE Germany), Thomas Herzog (FE Spain), Tine Hundahl (FE Denmark), Bara Jindrova (FE Czech Rep.), Kevin Miles (FE England), Garrett Mullan (FE Ireland), Andrea Palmieri (FE Italy), Rob Poldermann (FE Netherlands), polex.fmix.pl, Gabriele Rechberger, Ola Sjöstedt (FE Sweden), Zoran Stevanovic (FE Croatia), Dmitri Stratievski (FE Russia), Medhi Tazraret (FE France), Ingo Thiel www.fanguide-em2012.de

Design: Puschel

Print: druckdiscount24.de

02 • Contents

Contents

05Foreword

06The work programme08 Fans’ Embassies Go East 08 Respect Fans Culture09 Football for Equality09 Evaluation meeting

10BeFore The games10 The early stages 11 Let’s get together...11 Training the personnel12 Website13 Visits to host nations13 The printed FanGuide

14Fans’ emBassies in poland16 Fans’ Embassy Gdansk 17 Fans’ Embassy Poznan18 Fans’ Embassy Warsaw19 Fans’ Embassy Wroclaw

20Fans’ emBassies in Ukraine22 Fans’ Embassy Donetsk 23 Fans’ Embassy Kyiv24 Fans’ Embassy Kharkiv25 Fans’ Embassy Lviv

26on The road dUringThe eUro28 A common language30 Actions and activities32 Intermediating the fans’ perspectives34 Mobile Teams

36ConClUsions36 External evaluation37 Internal evaluation37 Scope for improvement38 Information Box

Page 3: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

• 0504

POlAnD & UkRAinE fans’ embassies 2012F ans’ Embassies services have been in existence

since the 1990‘s for German and English fans; the rest of Europe took a little time to catch on to the

huge benefits Fans’ Embassies provide for the travelling supporter. EURO 2012 proved to be the biggest ever Fans’ Embassy operation to date, however over the years, more and more countries have been involved in the movement. Twelve mobile embassies from the qualifying nations and eight stationary embassies run by the host countries were created during EURO 2012.

After many months of hard work and campaigning UEFA announced that the Fans’ Embassies concept would become a part of their four targeted Social projects. Football Supporters Europe (FSE) received the financial assistance required to deliver the Fans’ Embassies initiatives under the RESPECT Fan Culture banner.

The RESPECT Fan Culture project was the ultimate result of the biggest ever preparatory actions of FSE organized in the framework of the FSE project Fans’ Embassies Go East, supported by UEFA, and the EU-funded project “Football for Equality” coordinated by FSE partners from FairPlay.

Over a period of three years ahead of the event, and with the help of the governmental agency PL.2012 in Poland and the State Secretary for Youth and Sport and the All Ukrainian Fans’ Federation in Ukraine as key national partners, fans were recruited or established to operate the embassies, training programmes were initiated and fan experts, together with professional experts in fields such as law, diversity, and fan culture came together

in seminars and training meetings to prepare for the first major tournament to be held in Eastern Europe.

The fear of the unknown, based mainly on the paranoia created by some media outlets, was a concern at first, but the welcome and friendship extended by the Polish and Ukrainian stationary teams that greeted the volunteers of the mobile teams soon dispelled any initial concerns.

Amongst the hard work and long hours on the streets many new friendships and alliances were forged. Fan groups from different cultures and allegiances worked together for the good of the visiting fans in Poland and the Ukraine. Many new skills were developed, a better understanding of fan cultures in the East was acknowledged, and diversity issues were tackled head on. Everyone who worked on the project went away better educated and far more experienced in fan culture issues.

The target now is France 2016 and a continuance and development of the work completed so successfully during EURO 2012 in the run up to the next major event. Our aim is to build on our training schedules, to improve our standards, to continue educating our members based on our core principles and to try to create, train and educate Fans’ Embassies for all teams that qualify for the 2016 finals and beyond.

We are always looking at ways to improve and ways of uniting all football fans in embracing the common love of the game we all clearly share.

Foreword

The FSE Fans‘ Embassy Core GroupMichael Gabriel (Director, Germany), Paul ‚Corky‘ Corkrey (Wales)

Tam Ferry (Scotland), Thomas Herzog (Spain)Kevin Miles (England), Andrea Palmieri (Italy), Ola Sjöstedt (Sweden)

Page 4: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

06 • • 07

the wORk PROGRAmmE

06 • The work programme

At EURO 2012, away from the action on the field where players and teams made the

headlines, UEFA’s Respect campaign tackled some of Europe’s key social issues, aiming to raise awareness and positively affect the lives of people in Poland and Ukraine, as well as supporters visiting the tournament.

In the build-up to EURO 2012 and during the tournament, UEFA supported four social projects through its Respect campaign, through various initiatives grouped under the four headings of Respect Diversity, Respect Inclusion, Respect Your Health, and Respect Fan Culture

The Respect Diversity programme was implemented with the cooperation of UEFA’s long-time partner the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network and its associated organisation Never Again. It promoted the positive message of diversity – public buildings and spaces were designated as being open and accessible to all, regardless of ethnic or national background, gender, disability or sexual orientation, and more than 80,000 police officers and stewards received anti-discrimination training to help them identify discriminatory chants, symbols and behaviour.UEFA also worked alongside the Centre for Access to Football in Europe (CAFE) to manage three separate Respect Inclusion initiatives - Football With No Limits (information given to disabled fans and visitors by the means of a tailor-made guide), Showcase Games (giving disabled people the opportunity to demonstrate their sports skills by competing in football matches before each quarter-final game) and a fundraising project to help raise money for future inclusion work.

The Respect Your Health – Euroschools 2012 initiative promoted healthy lifestyles among children and their families in the host countries, with a focus on smoking prevention, healthy diet, moderation in alcohol consumption, and encouraging physical activity. As part of the Respect your Health project, EURO 2012 was declared a smoke-free event.

Finally, the Respect Fan Culture project supported football fans throughout the finals. With the collaboration of Football Supporters Europe (FSE), Fans’ Embassies were set up in the eight host cities to serve as places where fans could seek assistance with last-minute travel and accommodation arrangements as well as aid in unforeseen circumstances.

“The Fans’ Embassies in operation in each of the eight host cities during the UEFA EURO 2012 final tournament have made life much easier for the thousands of fans who have travelled to Poland and Ukraine.”

“Fans’ Embassies providing invaluable help”uefa.com

The work programme

Page 5: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

08 • • 09

Fans’ Embassies Go EastTo get prepared for the challenges of EURO 2012 FSE organized and coordinated a three-year project, “Fans’ Embassies Go East”, to develop the Fans’ Embassy network with a particular focus on Eastern Europe and EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. The project received support from UEFA.

The project was mainly aiming at enhancing European networks in the field and at giving support and providing expertise to host cities and the national organizing bodies with regards to the preparation of the best possible conditions for fan hosting at EURO 2012. This included workshops, training seminars and conferences for all fans and (football) authorities and institutions who had been involved in the provision of Fans’ Embassy services, but also a multilingual Fans’ Embassy website and an online Fanguide.

Respect FansCultureAt EURO 2012, FSE ran Fans’ Embassy services in all eight host cities under the motto “RESPECT Fan Culture” with the aim to promote positive and peaceful fan culture, and thus contribute to a festive

atmosphere at EURO 2012. It provided travelling fans with all the necessary information, assistance and services and encouraged interaction between the local community and international fans, as well as between fans and authorities.

The RESPECT Fan Culture project focused on establishing Fans’ Embassies in a by fans for fans fashion: meeting, exchange and service points in an open structure in which specific information and/or support was provided to football fans and tournament visitors. Stationary Fans’ Embassies have been set up in each host city. There have also been 12 mobile Fans’ Embassy teams formed by volunteer or professional fan workers, or social workers from the participating countries who followed the fans to their whereabouts in the cities, camp sites, etc.

The production of independent fanguides was a key factor of the success of Fans’ Embassies – multilingual material providing most important practical information to the international fans and tournament visitors. The fanguides have been available as a print publication, as well as interactive online portal (www.2012fanguide.org) containing all basic information in the languages of the participating teams.

The work programme

Football for EqualityIn addition FSE organized the following fan-oriented equality activities at the EURO 2012 in the framework of the “Football for Equality” project:

action Days for respect and against discrimination at the Fans´ Embassies

fanguides with LGBT-parts

diversity workshops on discrimination, homophobia and racism for Fans´ Embassies´ staff

The project “Football for Equality - challenging racist and homophobic stereotypes in and through football” was a European initiative carried out by several core partners of Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE). The initiative was part-funded by the Fundamental Rights and Citizenship program of the European Commission.

Evaluation meetingFollowing the tournament, on 21-23 September 2012 the final internal evaluation meeting of all three programmes took place in Hamburg. Representatives of all stationary and mobile Fans̀ Embassies were present to share experiences, discuss positive and negative aspects of the work done, and present ideas for future programs. It was the first time that the Fans’ Embassy Programme provided at an international tournament was evaluated extensively in this format, and the work conducted during these meetings, along with some of its findings and conclusions, are presented to you in the following document.

The work programme

Page 6: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

10 • • 11

W ork on the Fans’ Embassies Go East project began long before any of the

participants at EURO 2012, other than the two host nations, were confirmed. As far back as 2008 the Kibice Razem project was already being established, which would lead to generating those with whom the Fans’ Embassy teams would come to rely on for such close co-operation during the tournament. Kibice Razem was also involving a large number of volunteers who would end up working at the tournament some four years later – they just didn’t necessarily know it at the time!

But just because we didn’t know the precise make-up of the competing groups didn’t mean there wasn’t a lot to be done – preparatory meetings involving the sharing of ideas and knowledge, recruitment of volunteers, training plans and

working out the means of distributing the fan guides, as well as the process of staffing and managing the fans’ embassies all had to be worked out.

The only way to manage a project of such magnitude came down to the “3 P’s” – preparation, preparation, and preparation.

You will appreciate we don’t have enough space to explain all aspects of the project in their full detail, but we will take the following few pages as an opportunity to explore some of the key milestones and events that occurred along the way.

The early stagesIn the initial planning phase a project team was established, comprising an international project

coordinator from FSE (in the shape of Thomas Gassler), national project coordinators in each of the host countries (Igor Gomonai in Ukraine and Dariusz Lapinski in Poland) and host city representatives and project leaders chosen by the local fan associations.

Establishing the scope and agreeing the budget were the key tasks in the early days of the project, as was getting agreement from the various local, national and international organisations involved (such as Uefa) to commit to funding.

The creation of a Fans’ Embassy handbook by FSE, with input from long-standing fans’ embassy personnel within the organisation (such as Germany’s KOS Fan-Projekte and England’s Football Supporters’ Federation) helped better explain to interested parties

before THE GAmES

Before the games

“If you fail to prepare,then prepare to fail”

An old English saying

such as the host city and host nation representatives the benefits the Fans’ Embassy project could have at this tournament, and the scale of the work that FSE wanted to undertake.

The handbook worked as a good introduction and training aid to those members of the local fan-scene, as well as helping to set the expectations for the task ahead by documenting some of the experiences of those who had already been working with fans’ embassies, in some cases for more than a decade.

This document, allied to a lot of work put in at a large number of meetings with key stakeholders and the desire for the legacy of the fan work to continue after the tournament, helped convince those organisations to come onboard with the project, and make it a reality.

Let’s get together...In October 2010, despite the fact that the qualifiers were still being played, more than 100 representatives from organisations such as UEFA, the European Council, PL.2012 and the National Agency EURO 2012 Ukraine, the Polish and Ukranian FAs, Premier Leagues, Ministries for Sport, Tourism and Interior as well as local politicians and fans from the host cities came together and discussed fan work and hospitality at international tournaments at FSE’s Fans’ Embassy Conference in Gdansk.

International experts in fan work made their contributions in the form of passing on their know-how and experience from the 2006 World Cup in Germany and EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland. Information and the latest developments were exchanged in four workshops, along with a panel discussion, with a focus on four key topics: Fans’ Embassies, supporters, hospitality at international tournaments, and safety and security.

A second conference was held almost a year later in Lviv, updating those present on the progress made within the framework of the Fans’ Embassies Go East project, the work that had been done up to that point, and the outstanding issues facing each host city and country.

These conferences and international meetings (along with others that we’ve not had time to document, including sessions at FSE’s Annual Fans Congress)

offered a great opportunity for networking among key parties, as well as demonstrating in concrete terms how matters had been progressed to the local organising committees and volunteers.

On a project of this scale it is hard sometimes to ensure that everything is progressing as it should, and communication is key. It was through regular dialogue that fans’ embassy teams from all countries were given the chance to pose their questions and have their concerns answered by representatives from the host countries and cities, and FSE’s own fan experts, as well as for the local fan scene to provide up-to-date knowledge and situation updates from the host cities.

Training the personnelHow do you prevent potential problems and react in the case of an emergency? How do you ensure reliable, valuable, necessary and independent information is passed out to fans?

These and other challenging questions were discussed at the first FSE Fans’ Embassy training for Ukrainian and international Fans’ Embassy staff , which was organised in the host city of Kharkiv from 8 to 10 August. A similar event was held around the Poland v Germany game in Gdańsk on 9 September 2011.

Both training sessions aimed to show and explain to the future fan experts all the details and principles of how

Before the games

Page 7: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

12 • • 13

to organise mobile and stationary Fans’ Embassies. The speakers were experienced representatives of FSE who are used to working closely with fans at a number of international championships.

In each case the training lasted a couple of days, with theoretical information about the methodology of the Fans’ Embassies services, and with several workshops focusing on organisational matters, internal and external communication and the printed and online FanGuide 2012. Experienced fan representatives shared their experiences of mobile Fans’ Embassies during previous World Cup and EURO tournaments.

The highlight of both meetings was the very first stationary Fans’ Embassy organised by the participating supporters from the host countries. In Ukraine, representatives from all four host cities, together with the support and expertise of the mobile Fans’ Embassy team from Camp Sweden, organised their test Fans’ Embassy before the friendly game between Ukraine and Sweden in the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv on 10 August.

On the match day both Fans’ Embassy teams set up a tent on the main square of the city where the largest influx of fans was expected. There were only a few Swedish supporters and the Fans’ Embassy staff had no problems answering all of their questions (such as how they could recharge their account on their mobile phones, the location of nearby pharmacies and metro stations, and so on).

The Poland v Germany game gave the Fans’ Embassy teams from Gdansk, Poznan, Wroclaw and Warsaw the chance to organise a real test of their Fans’ Embassy project in Poland as well, alongside their German colleagues.

At the Poland v Germany game, The Polish stationary Fans’

Embassy was placed in the city centre at Długi Targ, near the Neptune’s fountain; the German KOS Fanprojekte fans organised their information point at Targ Weglowy, near the Golden Gate. Two hours before the game a Fans’ Consulate” was opened near the stadium, which was located close to away fans entrance.

“The game had a particular significance for us”, said Dariusz Łapiński, coordinator of the project in Poland. “Finally we moved from the planning phase to the practical implementation of the Fans’ Embassy service. I’m happy that several hundred German fans visited us, because it is impossible to run a serious test without away fans”.

These training sessions were a milestone on the way to forming strong, organised and responsible teams of Fans’ Embassy workers at EURO 2012.

WebsiteIt was agreed that the launch of the FSE FanGuide 2012 website would occur on the day that the draw for the tournament was made, in early December 2011. Along with the actual kick-off of the tournament, this provided one of the few concrete deadlines for the project that couldn’t be missed.

A huge deal of work went in to researching life in each of the host countries and cities – representative volunteers from each of the 8 host cities compiled their own research, which was supplemented by other FSE volunteers and co-ordinators from the Football Supporters’ Federation and KOS Fan-Projekte to produce a central document from which the website was managed and constantly updated.

Covering everything from language guides and details on the local history and culture to local legislation and accessiblity, from matchday information and how to get around to information on the stadiums, fanzones and fans’ embassies, the aim of the FanGuide2012 was to provide the most comprehensive source of information on each city and country to all visiting fans in the most accessible format. In a lot of cases, with infrastructure still being put in place, roads and airports still being built, the information was sketchy – but we made sure we had as much as we could for those planning their trips to Poland and Ukraine.

The main problem with the project was translation – with tens of thousands of words of text to be translated into more than a dozen languages, getting all this finalised in time proved to be problematic. However, the online Fanguide2012 was ready for launch on time,

Before the games

and over the coming weeks and months would go on to appear in the native language of every side competing in the tournament.

The completed website gave a platform to each international fans’ embassy to use as a resource for spreading the word about their work, and with complementary branding with the other aspects of the Fans’ Embassies’, it helped identify early on a consistent theme that would help establish the trustworthy nature of the project.

The blog section also gave the chance in the run-up to the tournament for each of the host city co-ordinators to pass on to the wider fan-scene an update about what was going on in their city – the state of the preparations, advice for visiting supporters as well as the chance to further address concerns and misconceptions that visiting fans may have of Poland or Ukraine. This was promoted via various channels of social media, with regular updates on Facebook and Twitter helping to spread the word of the online FanGuide 2012.

Visits to host nationsBetween 23rd January and 18th February 2012 representatives of the fans’ embassy teams from 11 of the 14 visiting competing nations travelled to their respective host cities for a series of preparatory events and familiarisation.

Kyiv and Donetsk were the first cities to welcome the FSE delegation, along with fans from the Football Supporters’ Federation (England), Camp Sweden and Fans’ Embassy France. During their visit, they met and discussed tournament and matchday arrangements with the local organising committees, representatives from the English, French and Swedish embassies in

Ukraine, police and security forces, and various host city representatives in a number of workshops.

The visits offered the opportunity for the fans’ embassy teams to tour the stadiums, cities and fanzones, and to gain an insight into the places they would call home for a short period in the summer. The visits also offered an ideal opportunity for the fans’ embassy teams to familiarise themselves with potentially unfamiliar surroundings and to build relationships with the local organisers.

The printed FanGuide - Getting the message outThe main physical manifestation of the Fans’ Embassy’s work in Poland and Ukraine, apart from the teams of fan-workers on the streets, was the printed FanGuide that was handed out to visiting supporters. Each city supplemented this

booklet with its own printed map, carrying useful local information provided by local researchers, targeted specifically at the nations who would be visiting each city.

As if the production and collating of thousands of words of content for the website and translating them all wasn’t enough of a logistical challenge, deciding which information was most important to be edited down into a handful of printed pages was perhaps even tougher.

More than 90,000 FanGuides were produced in seven languages, based on those from whom demand was expected to be greatest (English, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Italian, Spanish and German).

Alongside this, 45,000 FanGuide maps were produced across all eight cities in 15 languages. Working in consort with the fans’ embassies, the website and social media platforms, the printed materials carried the same branding and helped present a co-ordinated approach to the work of the fans’ embassies at the tournament.

Before the games

Page 8: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

14 • • 15

FAnS’ EmbASSiESin Poland“Seeing fans’ embassy workers from rival countries working together to help supporters, regardless of where the needy fans come from will be an abiding memory of EURO 2012.” Paul ‚Corky‘ Corkrey, International Coordinator Fans’ Embassies in Poland during UEFA EURO 2012™

baCkground and PhilosoPhy

F ans’ Embassies, established in each host city, serve as a crucial source of information

as well as a meeting point for all visiting supporters. The service and information offered here includes accommodation, details of local transport timetables and routes, sightseeing opportunities or money exchange. The essence of a Fans’ Embassy however is to provide fan-specific services: travelling supporters can expect much more football-related information here than you would normally get at a tourist office – such as ticket availability, public viewing facilities, local legislation, stadium regulations or special match-day arrangements. The staff of the Fans’ Embassy will preferably be drawn out of the local fan scene, so they might also provide insight into the national

club football and point supporters to interesting football sights in the respective host city or simply swap stories with them about their clubs.

In general, Fans’ Embassies will offer visiting supporters detailed and relevant information in their own language, as well as provide swift and simple solutions to any problems that may arise, all from a football and fan perspective in mind. The implementation of Fans’ Embassies as an integral part of the organization of major tournaments is based on the simple premise that fans welcomed as guests instead of as security threats will behave accordingly and do their part in creating a festive and peaceful atmosphere around the stadiums, inner cities and public

viewing areas. Fans’ Embassies serve as a clear signal from the organizing bodies that fans wherever they come from are first and foremost to be welcomed as guests and not to be regarded as security threats. This, as numerous experiences over the years have shown, will in turn be repaid by supporters through mostly peaceful and friendly behaviour.

The actual Fans’ Embassies in Poland and Ukraine largely consisted of containers which were used as offices and info points, combined with chairs and tables and other outdoor equipment. In some cases like Warsaw the Fans’ Embassies were located in buildings and used existing facilities. Ideally the locations are in central areas frequented by football fans.

Fans’ Embassies in Poland

fans’ embassies in Poland

T he Fans’ Embassies in Poland were strongly benefiting from a very good integration with

the existing organizational structures on the national level. Cooperation with PL2012, the responsible body at the Polish Ministry of Sport and Tourism, was excellent. Dariusz Łapiński was both Fans Cooperation Project Coordinator at PL2012 and national coordinator for the FSE project, as early as 2008 he initiated the Kibice Razem project: Fan centres were formed to implement initiatives for a positive fan culture in the Polish league football. The Fans’ Embassies in Poland could draw on the contacts formed by the Kibice Razem project. Fans of Lechia Gdansk, Polonia Warsaw and Slask Wroclaw were engaged in the Fans’ Embassies. The supporters in Poznan, the “Wiara Lecha” association, were

not interested in the EURO 2012, so the stationary Fans’ Embassy in Poznan was organized in cooperation with the NGO “Project: Poland Poznan”. The commendable

cooperation with the Host Cities in Poland included the financial support of both the Kibice Razem and the Fans’ Embassy project (with the exception of Poznan). A major legacy of the project in Poland is the network of local projects of cooperation with fans from Gdansk, Gdynia, Warsaw and Wroclaw. They will continue their work after EURO 2012, as Dariusz Łapiński points out: “Members of the fan community in Gdansk, Warsaw and Wroclaw gained competences in project management, institutional cooperation, successful planning and implementing. They are an active part of their communities and an example to other fans. Their acquired knowledge can be used to realize other projects and in promoting and managing the Kibice Razem fan centres also in the future.”

Fans’ Embassies in Poland

Page 9: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

16 • • 17

FAnS’ EmbASSygdansk

T he staff of the Fans’ Embassy in Gdansk belonged to the local fan community from

Lechia Gdansk, more precisely the organisation “Lwy Polnocy” (Lions of the North). This is how coordinator Michal Nowosad describes their engagement: “With this project we would like to show how well organised Polish football fans are. We organised a test Fans’ Embassy when the Polish team played against Germany in September 2011 in Gdansk and it was a big success.” As in Warsaw, Poznan or Wroclaw the local fans community is also involved in the bigger scope of the Kibice Razem project for a peaceful and creative fan culture with a fan centre in Gdansk which will continue its work in the future.

As to the location for the Fans’ Embassy and the Host City itself Gdansk offered perhaps the most ideal conditions in Poland. The Fans’ Embassy was located at the entrance to the Old Town at a walkway and a square frequented by the majority of the visiting fans as well as the city’s inhabitants. Close proximity to a tourist office and the spots for the mobile teams – of which Gdansk with its four games had a fair share of five – made this a great location. Corky, international coordinator in Poland, resumes: “The communication between the stationary Fans’ Embassy and the mobile teams was excellent and in our opinion that was greatly helped by the proximity of the embassies

to each other.” Furthermore, the space of the square was used not only for the installation of fast food stalls but also for an impromptu football match between football fans from Italy and Spain, which the Fans‘ Embassy staff could observe:

“They played with fair-play rules, mostly for fun. The game was played and enjoyed in a positive manner and by enthusiastic participants. It showed that it’s the fans from all over Europe that greatly contribute to building the unique atmosphere of the tournament. Spanish supporters drew with the Italians 1:1, and after the game they all walked into the bar.”

good PraCtiCe

The Fans’ Embassy staff in Gdansk could rely on an excellent organisational structure thanks to their experience as fan organisation and members of the Kibice Razem project. The cooperation with the local authorities and institutions was well established, and lines of communication were short as can be demonstrated by one example: Each morning the Fans’ Embassy would receive a list from the tourist office with an overview of free accommodation in town and spread

that information among the fans and the colleagues from the mobile teams. For the Quarter-final where fans from Germany and Greece came to Gdansk without having the opportunity to book their accommodation weeks in advance, this practice turned out to be very helpful.

Another experience from the work at the Fans’ Embassy in Gdansk shows that football fans are far from interested in nothing but beer

and the match, but also in the local knowledge and input to be offered by the fan community of a Host City.

“We had a lot of guests from Spain in our embassy today. Many Spanish supporters came to us and asked about the history of Solidarity and the location of the Gdansk Shipyard, where Solidarity was born. Spanish supporters are also interested in history of Lechia Gdansk and our Ultras.”

Coordinator: Michal Nowosad • Location: Targ WeglowyGames: Spain – Italy, Spain – Ireland, Croatia – Spain (all Group stage), Greece – Germany (Quarter-final)

Fans’ Embassies in Poland

FAnS’ EmbASSyPoznanCoordinator: Krzysztof Maczka • Location: ul. 3 Maja 46 Games: Ireland – Croatia, Italy – Croatia, Italy – Ireland (all group-stage)

I n Poznan the local fan community showed no interest in participating in the work around EURO 2012.

Instead the Fans’ Embassy was organized by the NGO „Polska Association” committed to an open and liberal Poland and thus ready to embrace the ideas behind the Fans’ Embassy work. This is how Krzysztof, coordinator of the Poznan Fans’ Embassy project, described the „recruitment” process: „Polska Association is a democratic, nationwide membership-based organization open to anyone. A little bit more than a year ago City Hall offered us the chance to take part in the Fans’ Embassies project in Poznań and we agreed on the spur of the moment, because this project suits our point of view very well.

So why not promote open Polish society with FSE and City Hall?”

The Poznan Fans’ Embassy was located in a building on a street very near the official fan zone on Plac Wolnosci, which in turn is very central and thus a good meeting place for football fans before matches. Poznan saw two matches with one of the biggest fan crowds of the whole tournament: Ireland played Croatia and Italy in Poznan in the first and third match in the city. In between it was Italy against Croatia.

„Poznan turns into Little Ireland“ reported the Fans‘ Embassy on the FSE blog before the first game. With the Irish fans however the Fans’ Embassy was also involved in more serious tasks, namely the search for missing persons, spreading info and assisting the mobile team from Ireland.

The Irish embassy, the Irish Fans’ Embassy and stationary fans’ embassy cooperated to circulate material to the media centre and by putting up missing persons notices at strategic locations around the city and near to the stadium. Unfortunately, in one tragic case, a missing supporter was found dead after three days of searches.

The Fans‘ Embassy team received recognition for their work by the visit of Poznan mayor Ryszard Grobelny who showed genuine interest in the Fans‘ Embassy work and the organisations behind it.

Before the Croatian Mobile Team was setting off for Gdansk for the last group game, the Fans’ Embassy in Poznan organized an international picnic by the Warta River, with both the Croatian and the Italian colleagues, including beer, sausages and, of course, a football match.

Though Poznan only hosted games during the group stage it had its full share of cooperation of the Fans’ Embassy with the Mobile Teams from three participating nations. The feedback from the international colleagues show that the support from the Poznan crew was appreciated and welcome: „Thanks from the heart for all the help you give us, for all passion and support... United we stand“ read a Facebook from a member of the Italian Mobile Team. And the Croatian colleagues mention in their conclusions of the work their „appreciation of excellent work from Poznan Fans’ Embassy Crew”.

good PraCtiCe

Fans’ Embassies in Poland

Page 10: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

18 • • 19

FAnS’ EmbASSyWarsaW

T he staff of the Warsaw Fans’ Embassy was recruited from among the fan community

of Polonia Warszawa, also involved in the local Kibice Razem project for the promotion of a positive fan culture. The fan centre in Warsaw and its localities served as a meeting point and training centre during the preparations in Poland for the Fans’ Embassy work. During the tournament itself the Fans’ Embassy was based in a building at a central tourist place, the Main Square of the Old Town of Warsaw.

What is ideal for tourists, however, is not necessarily the best location available for fans. Compared to the other Polish set-ups the placement of the Warsaw Fans’ Embassy was perhaps the least ideal one.

As Corky, international coordinator during the „hot phase” of the preparation and the tournament, puts it: „It was a tourist area. The mobile embassy site was a long walk away from the stationary embassy. Two international teams (Germany and Italy) decided to abandon that site and set up outside the stationary embassy instead. That way they had access to toilets, internet, refreshments etc. The communication between the stationary and mobile teams was far more effective when they worked closer together.”

The Fans’ Embassy Warsaw faced their biggest challenge as early as at the second match in the Host City: Throughout the match day of the group game of Poland against

Russia there were violent clashes in Warsaw between the two supporter groups, a background being an official and approved march by the Russians for their independence day and the symbolical and historical aspects connected with the football encounter of the two countries. FSE issued a statement condemning the violent incidents.

International coordinator Corky, also present in Warsaw on match day, recalls the involvement of the local Fans’ Embassy: „Russian and Polish fans clashed in Warsaw but the Polish Fans’ Embassy volunteers were first to assist Russian fans who needed translation and advice in courtrooms. This action broke down barriers and new friendships were formed.”

good PraCtiCe

The Warsaw Fans’ Embassy could rely on a good cooperation with public authorities and was provided with detailed information about traffic conditions and warnings concerning the tournament. Aldona Maciąg, member of the volunteer Fans’ Embassy staff in Warsaw, recalls the positive feedback received from fans for the supporter-

specific service: „They were very grateful for our services and meant that the Fans’ Embassy office was the only place where they could find all the information they needed and sincere help from other supporters.”

Aldona recounts the individual case of a Swedish supporter stranded at Warsaw airport: „He should have

gone back home with his friends a day before, but those ‘buddies’ went without him. He spent the night ‘sobering-up’ at the police station where he lost his shoes, documents and money. The next day he came to our embassy with a city volunteer and we helped him to book a flight ticket and offered lunch, then I took him to the airport and finally he got back home.”

Coordinator: Maciej Grzesik • Location: Krakowskie Przedmiescie 83Games: Poland – Greece, Poland – Russia, Greece – Russia (all group stage), Czech Republic – Portugal (Quarter-final), Germany – Italy (Semi-final)

Fans’ Embassies in Poland

FAnS’ EmbASSyWroClaWCoordinator: Joanna Laska • Location: ul. Szewska 66/67A Games: Russia – Czech Republic, Greece – Czech Republic, Czech Republic – Poland (all group-stage)

L ike in Gdansk and Warsaw, the Wroclaw Fans’ Embassy could rely on the support of the local

fan scene from Śląsk Wrocław already involved in the Kibice Razem project. As in the other cities the work that begun with the fan centres in support of a positive supporter culture has continued after the tournament, building on knowledge gained during the Fans’ Embassy work. The Fans’ Embassy in Wroclaw was very well located near the official fan zone, which was on the Market Square in the centre of the city. As with the Fans’ Embassies in Poznan and Warsaw, the Wroclaw one was also inside a building – offering better and easier infrastructure on the one hand, but less visibility on the other.

Wroclaw hosted only three group matches and saw the biggest influx of fans during the third match between Czech Republic and the Polish hosts, in addition a decisive game with a sad ending for both teams. Thousands of home fans and Czech fans from the neighbouring country came to Wroclaw and filled the Old Town, the fan zone and later the stadium.

Thus reads the report from the Fans’ Embassy staff: “As we all know the stadium can take only 40 thousand fans, the Fan zone around 35 thousand, so we will have to help people find the best places to see the match tomorrow. With so many fans in our City, Fans’ Embassy had to send

three patrols equipped with Fan Guides and City Guides, which have been very popular with the fans.”

The city of Wroclaw in general turned out to be a great success with the fans, not only those whose teams played there, as the feedback from travelling fan Ian shows: ““I love the atmosphere here, people are kind and smiling, I regret that I didn’t bring my wife with me, because the city is just marvellous, fantastic architecture, great buildings, and the city centre is just magic. I’ve tried some ‘Pierogi and Zurek’ and even that funny dish from raw meat with onions and gherkins. I’m loving my time here, I’m actually ‘Wroclovin it’.”

good PraCtiCe

The first match to be played in the city was Russia vs Czech Republic. Together with the Russian Mobile Fans‘ Embassy and Tomas Sadovskis from Lithuania as an expert on Russian culture and football fans the staff of the Fans’ Embassy in Wroclaw started their work with a “Russian day” on the day before the game. Especially with regard to the historically charged relations between Poland and Russia this is as a very important initiative.

This is shown also by the reactions reported by Joanna Laska, coordinator of the Fans’ Embassy in Wroclaw: “The Russian Day brought us a lot of Russian and Polish supporters and people generally interested in Russian culture and the fan scene. All of them were pleasantly surprised by our hospitality and knowledge.”

This success was repeated with a “Czech day” introducing the

culture and football of the southern neighbour to the Polish and other interested guests, organised together with the Czech mobile team. The cooperation between the mobile team from the Czech Republic (present for all three group matches) was altogether very positive and also included a fan match – and a sad good-bye when the colleagues had to leave for the Quarter-final in Warsaw.

Fans’ Embassies in Poland

Page 11: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

20 • • 21

FAnS’ EmbASSiESin ukraine“The best example is that almost nothing bad happened. We noticed that the officials’ attitude to our work changed during the tournament as they realised we are really practically helpful.” Igor Gomonai, National Coordinator Fans’ Embassies in Ukraine

F ans’ Embassies, established in each host city, serve as a crucial source of information

as well as a meeting point for all visiting supporters. The service and information offered here includes accommodation, details of local transport timetables and routes, sightseeing opportunities or money exchange. The essence of a Fans’ Embassy however is to provide fan-specific services: travelling supporters can expect much more football-related information here than you would normally get at a tourist office – such as ticket availability, public viewing facilities, local legislation, stadium regulations or special match-day arrangements. The staff of the Fans’ Embassy will preferably be drawn out of the local fan scene, so they might also provide insight into the national

club football and point supporters to interesting football sights in the respective host city or simply swap stories with them about their clubs.

In general, Fans’ Embassies will offer visiting supporters detailed and relevant information in their own language, as well as provide swift and simple solutions to any problems that may arise, all from a football and fan perspective in mind. The implementation of Fans’ Embassies as an integral part of the organization of major tournaments is based on the simple premise that fans welcomed as guests instead of as security threats will behave accordingly and do their part in creating a festive and peaceful atmosphere around the stadiums, inner cities and public viewing areas. Fans’

Embassies serve as a clear signal from the organizing bodies that fans wherever they come from are first and foremost to be welcomed as guests and not to be regarded as security threats. This, as numerous experiences over the years have shown, will in turn be repaid by supporters through mostly peaceful and friendly behaviour.

The actual Fans’ Embassies in Poland and Ukraine largely consisted of containers which were used as offices and info points, combined with chairs and tables and other outdoor equipment. In some cases like Warsaw the Fans’ Embassies were located in buildings and used existing facilities. Ideally the locations are in central areas frequented by football fans.

baCkground and PhilosoPhy

Fans’ Embassies in Ukraine

T he difficulties FSE and their partners faced in setting up the Fans’ Embassy program

in Ukraine were numerous: In contrast to Poland there was almost no institutionalised support from national or local authorities, no contracts signed with the Host Cities, no financial help and no established structure of fan work as with the Polish Kibice Razem project. In addition, the host country Ukraine in itself presented the difficulties of being a non-EU country across the Schengen border and not an established tourist destination for Western Europeans where people speak not only two languages (Ukrainian and Russian) unknown to the majority of the travelling fans but it is also a country where they use a different alphabet. In addition, the draw allotted the

Ukrainian host cities several teams with supposedly big supporter crowds: Germany, England and Sweden were scheduled to perform in Lviv, Donetsk, Kyiv and Kharkiv.

The media coverage in these countries in the months before the EURO 2012 in many cases did not build on actual research in Ukraine, but rather on stereotypes about a corrupt and criminal country and people. Considering these starting conditions the work done by the responsible coordinators in Ukraine, Igor Gomonai (All Ukrainian Supporters Association, National Coordinator) and Olga Mykhaylychenko (State Department Youth and Sports, contact to the authorities and general organizational miracle worker), as well as the heads of the Fans’ Embassies and their respective teams deserves a huge amount of respect. The legacy of the Fans’ Embassy work in Ukraine is undoubtedly the network and contacts formed among supporters.

fans’ embassies in ukraine

Fans’ Embassies in Ukraine

Page 12: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

22 • • 23

FAnS’ EmbASSydonetsk

T he Fans’ Embassy in Donetsk was organized by the “Za Boys Ultras”, one of the biggest ultras

group in Donetsk supporting the local club Shakhtar Donetsk. Although the other Ukrainian Fans’ Embassies could also draw on the local fan scene for volunteers and staff, the “Za Boys” were the only ultras group involved in the Fans’ Embassy work. Here’s how they describe their engagement: “When the Go East project started we joined as representatives of fans culture in host city Donetsk. We participated in all network meetings in the framework of the Fans’ Embassies project and organized the test Fans Embassy in Kharkiv at the

Ukraine-Sweden friendly match.” The Fans’ Embassy in Donetsk was located on Artema street, a central place for going-out and shopping in Donetsk.

The city in eastern Ukraine had, together with Kharkiv, the dubious honour of being even more of a strange, exotic and potentially dangerous place than the two other Ukrainian host cities. In many cases supporters couldn’t help having a load of prejudices in their luggage. Part of the work of the Fans’ Embassy staff in Donetsk was to dispel those by offering help and contacts to fans who came to Ukraine.

This is how the team of coordinator Sergiy Pronkin describes the two visits of the English supporters in Donetsk: “Our Fans’ Embassy hosted more than 100 groups from Britain. There were little ones with no more than four people and really big delegations with the number of people exceeding 40. But all of them came to one conclusion: The championship only benefited from being held in the Ukraine. A lot of fans appreciated our help and support on match days. They also enjoyed the excursion tours we prepared for our guests and we are sure our country will leave a very positive impression on the visitors from England.”

good PraCtiCe

The Fans’ Embassy team was involved in organizing fan matches between Ukrainian fans and supporters from the guest countries France and England. The staff enjoyed very good cooperation with the English and French mobile teams, present in Donetsk for two and three matches respectively. Also in Donetsk a close connection in every sense, between mobile teams and stationary Fans’ Embassy, showed positive effects as the English team points out in their summary: “Sergiy and his team were

extremely helpful. In particular we called on their local knowledge for directions to shops, police stations etc. Because of their close proximity we were able to refer fans to them and were confident enough to do so.”

Coordinator Sergiy Pronkin himself names the cooperation with the diplomatic missions of Poland and Spain, including meetings before the tournament and a visit from the Spanish Consul at the mobile and stationary embassies in Donetsk, as

particularly useful. Also the media coverage both local and international of the work and the fans’ situation in the host city turned out to be a positive factor during the EURO (and striking a very different note than the coverage before the matches). The match between Ukraine and France will probably stick in the memory for its meteorological conditions. And also the staff from the French mobile team had trouble holding on to their tent which threatened to fly away because of the storm.

Coordinator: Sergiy Pronkin • Location: vul. Artema 129AGames: France – England, Ukraine – France, England – Ukraine (group stage), Spain – France (Quarter-final), Portugal – Spain (Semi-final)

Fans’ Embassies in Ukraine

FAnS’ EmbASSykyivCoordinator: Eugen Bantysh • Location: Besarabska Square 2Games: Ukraine – Sweden, Sweden – England, Sweden – France (all group stage), England – Italy (Quarter-final), Spain – Italy (Final)

T he staff at the Kyiv Fans’ Embassy was headed by Eugen Bantysh who already

had gathered experience working with the Ukrainian mobile team during the World Cup in Germany. His team consisted of volunteers mostly with close links to local club Dynamo Kyiv and football culture in general: “They are fan experts who know Kyiv very well and also the in and outs of Ukrainian and EURO fans movements. They haven’t had the opportunity to work in big tournaments, but thanks to their skills and the knowledge received during FSE training meetings and practical work, they are ready to go!”

Also the Kyiv Fans’ Embassy had the opportunity to arrange a test Fans’ Embassy, at the opening match for the new Olympic Stadium in November 2011 between Ukraine and Germany. The Fans’ Embassy was located centrally on one end of the great Kyiv Khreshchatyk boulevard.

Fans were visiting Kyiv in huge numbers, not only those supporting the teams playing there but also because it was “on the road” travelling from Lviv to Kharkiv or Donetsk and fans grabbed the chance to spend time in the Ukrainian capital and see a game in the stadium or at the fan zone.

As the experience of Gabriele Rechberger, International Coordinator in Ukraine during the EURO 2012 shows, the fans visiting Kyiv were not only interested in common tourist issues: “The questions were not limited on topics like tickets or where best to party, but also on intercultural issues like ‘How do Ukrainian people live?’, ‘What is the political system really like?’, ‘Is it as dangerous as the media claim?’ or ‘What about fans in Ukrainian football?’.” The idea of the Fans’ Embassy offers the opportunity to also take up these topics and build contacts between the hosts and their visitors with the background of the shared interest in football.

Kyiv was full of Swedish supporters staying there for no less than three games. “Camp Sweden” for some thousand Swedish fans on the central Truchanov island was a project linked to the work of the mobile Fans’ Embassy team from the Northern country. Therefore the “cases” worked by the Kyiv Fans’ Embassy included several Swedes getting temporarily lost or in trouble. Here, the staff could help with easier contacts to hospitals, police or other

authorities and the necessary translations. Also the arrangements for the traditional march of the Swedish supporters before their matches were made easier through the support from the local Fans’ Embassy.

For supporters preparing for their trip to Kyiv and Ukraine well in advance the Kyiv Fans’ Embassy had started a very inventive series of video films which were put on youtube and the social

media sites linked to the whole FSE project. In those “Kyivites” members of the Fans’ Embassy teams were welcoming the fans from abroad by showing how to use the different means of public transport like the metro or the funicular. The series also included interviews with Kyiv inhabitants about their attitude and thoughts on the coming EURO. The videos were done in Ukrainian/Russian with English subtitles.

good PraCtiCe

Fans’ Embassies in Ukraine

Page 13: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

24 • • 25

FAnS’ EmbASSykharkiv

T he Kharkiv Fans’ Embassy consisted of a mix of football fans (both of the local club

Metalist Kharkiv and others) and young people with a commitment, as coordinator Jimmy Godun puts it: “We are trying to do our best to show Ukrainian hospitality to foreign fans. Not all of us are ultras, but we are well-organized and know which information we need to provide.” The team prepared itself by arranging a test Fans’ Embassy during the match Ukraine against Sweden in August 2011. The Fans’ Embassy was located directly

next to the fan zone on Kharkiv’s impressive Svobody (Freedom) Square – a very central location but in midst of the fan zone turmoil perhaps not always recognizable.

As with the other eastern host city Donetsk, Kharkiv suffered not only from real difficulties with language, traffic, accommodation and other infrastructure issues but also from a wide-spread ignorance and prejudices about the city near the Russian border. So not unexpectedly the real Kharkiv experience proved to be a pleasant surprise, for both

sides, as the Fans’ Embassy team concludes in their summary: “The majority of foreign tourists had never heard about Kharkiv before this event but they have made this city their home and even shown the local people their native city from a new angle, which we have never previously noticed.”

The inhabitants of Kharkiv joined the thousands of Dutch, Danish, Portuguese and German fans in the streets, at the fan zone or at the stadium very often decked out in the national colours of the visiting teams.

good PraCtiCe

Like their colleagues in Kyiv the Kharkiv team also prepared a video film before the tournament interviewing local people about their view of the tournament. They also posted information on public transport on the social media sites of the Fans’ Embassy projects. The service provided by the Fans’ Embassy in Kharkiv was very often targeted at quite simple things. In a city without a touristic infrastructure but a foreign language and alphabet for most fans and visitors the basic information turned out to be very helpful. The

Fans’ Embassy reports: “Guests at our Embassy were pleasantly surprised that they could get any necessary information in English or in their native language – German, Dutch, Danish, etc. Also it was very useful to have a lot of printed products – fan guides, maps, schemes of underground and other kinds of public transport, train and bus timetables and so on.”

Cooperation was especially close with the Dutch mobile team who stayed in Kharkiv through the whole group stage (and unfortunately not

farther). The Dutch coordinators met before the tournament during their research visits and continued a good communication as Rob Polderman from the Netherlands writes in their evaluation: “The cooperation with the Kharkiv Host City Fans’ Embassy has been good. Information was exchanged multiple times on match days, and daily on the days in between matches. The Kharkiv Fan Embassy staff handled all our requests for assistance swiftly and adequately. We owe Jimmy and his team many thanks for their kind cooperation.“

Coordinator: Eugen “Jimmy” Godun Location: Sumska 39 on Svobody Square • Games: Netherlands – Denmark, Netherlands – Germany, Netherlands – Portugal (all group-stage)

Fans’ Embassies in Ukraine

FAnS’ EmbASSylvivCoordinator: Oleh Soldatenko • Location: Svobody ProspectGames: Germany – Portugal, Denmark – Portugal, Denmark – Germany (all group-stage)

T he Fans’ Embassy team in Lviv was perhaps the most experienced in international

work with fans’ and football issues. Several volunteers and coordinator Oleh Soldatenko belonged to the fan scene of local club Karpaty Lviv, and had already been involved in the organization the annual international fan football tournament “Eurofan”. That experience turned out to be a very useful asset for their work during EURO 2012. The containers of the Fans’ Embassy were located at an excellent spot, very central,

very near to the fan zone and the spots for the mobile teams, and more visible since they were placed on a little square where Lviv inhabitants and guests mingled.

From a touristic perspective Lviv was perhaps the Ukrainian host city which was best prepared for the influx of tens of thousands of football fans in its streets and squares. Thanks to the good contacts of the Fans’ Embassy also the relations to public authorities were possibly best in Lviv. Both the

very professional tourist office and the Host City organization were centrally located with “short ways” in every respect too.

Fans in search of accommodation could be directed to the tourist office and it turned out that it was possible even at short notice to find an affordable place to stay in Lviv. The Fans’ Embassy was also extremely helpful in supporting the fan match between Danish and German supporters by finding a suitable stadium and helping with the arrangements.

For the international mobile teams in Lviv from Denmark and Germany the Fans’ Embassy turned out to be a very valuable partner, both in bigger things like the fan match and smaller ones as Tine Hundahl Jensen from the Danish mobile team recounts: “They found a volunteer who could speak Swedish, provided us with a driver when we had to go to for example the stadium or Camp Denmark which were long trips, provided us with equipment and local contacts. After ‘office hours’ they took their time

to show us restaurants, sights etc.” But also the fans themselves were benefitting from the well-organised crew at the Lviv Fans’ Embassy as in the case of the Portuguese supporter who turned up at their container the morning after the match against Germany, with nothing but his passport. “He did not remember anything, no places where he spent the night, not the name and address of the hostel in which he stayed” says Oleh Soldatenko. “He had no money. We fed him sandwiches and hot tea

and took him to the hotel where the Portuguese police representatives stayed and they managed to find his friends. The next day he came to us again to say thanks.”

In another case two German fans already at the stadium had lost their tickets – for the match starting any minute. In a hectic telephone collaboration of Fans’ Embassy, German mobile team and UEFA security services it was possible to get them to their seats in time for kick-off.

good PraCtiCe

Fans’ Embassies in Ukraine

Page 14: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

26 • • 27

On THE ROAD DURinG THE UEFA EURO 2012

the international mobile teams

26 • On the road during the UEFA EURO 2012™

T hey are not called mobile teams for nothing: for almost four weeks teams from nearly

all participating nations travelled throughout Poland and Ukraine by car, train or plane to get from Gdansk to Donetsk, Kharkiv to Lviv or Warsaw to Kyiv to be there just in time to assist their fellow-supporters.

Background and philosophyBut what were they doing exactly? Mobile international Fans’ Embassies are teams of visiting fan workers who travel from their country in order to offer information services and assistance targeted to the supporters of their own respective nations throughout the tournament. You will generally find them located in key spots of the respective town with their own Fans’ Embassy van or tent. Mobile Fans’ Embassies serve as visible points of contact for “their” fans. Here, fan workers distribute useful, verified information material and provide supporters with help and advice.

The mobile Fans’ Embassies also served as meeting points for many fans on the road in the host countries. Usually they open one day before the match and close on the day after. Cooperation with the Stationary Fans’ Embassies and the other international mobile team is a given. Ideally they are also a good contact to the national football association, the “real” Embassy or consulate in the respective city, host city authorities and police representatives from the respective country.

24 hours a dayThe mobile Fans’ Embassy teams at EURO 2012, organised and coordinated by the Football Supporters Europe (FSE) network, benefitted from long experience at previous international events and are in most cases made up by football fans, in other cases they are fan project workers. At this tournament FSE worked with no less than a dozen mobile Fans’ Embassies, a new record. The teams came with a very different level of experience – and support - from their home countries. The “big” teams like the German and the English have not only years (decades even) of experience but also additional financial support which allowed them to travel with a bigger crew and a broader range of support and activities, like a fanzine for every fixture, fan matches, etc. As part of the Fans’ Embassy service all international teams also used websites and social media networks like Facebook and Twitter and ran 24hr helplines during EURO 2012.

“A big thanks to you! Great work! Always a useful hint and, no matter if in Lviv, Gdansk or Warsaw, always a competent contact person in place! AWESOME!!!!”Post on the Facebook page of the German Fans’ Embassy team

good PraCtiCe

When the two mobile teams arrive in a host city, the stationary Fans’ Embassy team should arrange a threefold meeting between the two mobile teams and the stationary embassy volunteers. This breaks the ice and gives everyone a chance to get

acquainted since only some of the team volunteers will have had the occasion to take part in preparatory meetings before the tournament. Additionally it allows the teams to plan for the days they work together and also share information between embassies.

On the road during the UEFA EURO 2012™

Page 15: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

28 • • 29

a common language

I t’s one of the core principles of the work: Fans’ Embassies are a service by fans for fans, provided in a

common language. Very literally with regard to the EURO 2012 this also included printed information in the language of the respective country: The mobile teams distributed folded maps with basic information on the host city in Danish, Czech or Italian and they were there in place speaking their language. Especially in the Ukrainian host cities where language problems for most of the visiting fans were more acute, the mobile teams also were a little “home away from home”: Their vans or tents in the cities, often equipped with chairs, table and a parasol, also served as meeting points for fans to have a little chat and swap stories. As the Croatian team conclude in their report: “No amount of brochures, maps or guides can convey the needs, information and input better than one fan to another.”

Reliable informationBeing in most cases football fans themselves the staff of the mobile team also speak the language of the supporters, they know what might be vital points of interest and what information is of special use to them – like the way to the stadium, the ticket situation, affordable accommodation, football sights or just the Irish bar in town. In many cases the staff would check out those things themselves, drive to camp sites and find out about capacities or walk to the stadium or test public transport. The mobile teams were supported from the stationary Fans’ Embassies, often one of the volunteers would be available at the mobile Fans’ Embassy to help out with translations, point

fans to specific places or simply provide the knowledge of a local.

Especially with as yet inexperienced host countries like Poland and the Ukraine it was important to separate truth from lies and false allegations. Here, the Fans’ Embassies and the mobile teams in collaboration with other organisations could do an important job: coordinating with the football associations, tourist offices or authorities they were able to spread accurate information (about accommodation, traffic, ticketing, etc.) and quell rumours. This was especially important in the case of unexpected and disturbing events like the violent clashes before the Poland – Russia match as the experience of the Russian mobile team shows:

“Mass media sources were delivering not always true and precise information. For example, there was some information that one of Russian supporters was killed in Warsaw. The Ambassador of Russia in Poland himself called on the Fans’ Embassy’s hot-line to confirm the details and clarify the situation. The representative of the Russian mobile team checked with Stationary Fans’ Embassy and other security and medical services of Warsaw and could deny this

information. Working directly with our supporters in the streets and at the Fans’ Embassy office we could calm them down, spread true facts and update them on the current situation. There were many requests from supporters and we were happy to help them with clear and true updates, instructions and information.”

“We have experienced you as a positive help to our fans, and we have also experienced just how many fans that needed support and help both before and during the EURO.”Danish Football Association (Dansk Boldspil-Union)

On the road during the UEFA EURO 2012™

FanzinesWith an event as big as the European Championship commercial interests are all over the place. Fans are showered with printed material full of advertisements and sale offers. The Fans’ Embassies offer advice and reliable, checked and independent information with no price label on it. Both the German and the English team could, thanks to their more extended resources, publish a fanzine for each match of the respective teams. Also the much smaller Spanish team produced and distributed their “Furía Roja” at each match and the Danish team produced already at their “fan embassy debut” an edition of “Holger”. Hats off to the Vikings! All fanzines, well-established or new, proved to be a great success with the fans.

In general, on-spot produced fanzines as well as social media networks are not only a great way to spread information, they also make it possible to take up more serious issues in a fan-specific language. Cases in point are the way in which the pre-tournament media reports have been contrasted with the real experience of fans in Ukraine by the “Free Lions”, but also critical remarks on homophobic chants or a racist banner in the German fan sector aired in two of the “Helmut” issues as well as critical articles on racism in the “Furía Roja”.

Exhibition “Fandom as uni-versal language”Not only the mobile teams, but also the photo exhibition “Kibicowanie – Fandom as Universal Language” toured through some of the host cities and was shown in Wroclaw, Gdansk and Lviv. The collection

of 30 pictures documents the passion shared by football fans from around the world. Pictures from Europe, United States, Japan, Asia, Africa and South America were sent to Michal Karas, Stadiums DB journalist and project inventor. The exhibition at EURO 2012 was shown in the framework of the Football for Equality Action days for Respect and against discrimination organized by the FSE Fans’ Embassies.

On the road during the UEFA EURO 2012™

Page 16: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

30 • • 31

Not only here for the game: actions and activities

T he mobile teams travelling through Poland and Ukraine were not only busy

distributing information, solving individual cases of lost passports or tickets and showing fans to the stadium, the next pub or the fan zone – in many cases they were also organizing or co-organizing special events to support the spirit of a peaceful tournament where fans from all over Europe meet up and have a good time together.

For some of the fan groups the “fan march” – walking all together to the stadium from a central meeting point in the city – is an integral part of their match day. Most notably at the EURO 2012 were certainly the fan marches of the Swedes in Kyiv and the Dutch in Kharkiv. In both cases the initiatives behind the respective

mobile teams – Camp Sweden and the Supportersclub Oranje – were involved in the arrangements. The report from Rob Polderman shows that the fan march was a huge success with the Kharkiv inhabitants:

“Not many people in Kharkiv had imagined beforehand that a such mass of oddly dressed, friendly, positive festive people would ever march though their city, singing and dancing, headed by an old but neatly painted double-decker bus, but they clearly loved it. Due to extensive local media coverage and word-of-mouth advertisement, the second and third episodes attracted massive attention. Official estimates by the Kharkiv police ranged from 70,000 attendants on June 13 and 75,000 attendants on June 17. Only 10,000 of these can possibly have been Dutch, which means that the vast majority were local citizens.”

But also fans of the opposing team could take part in the fan parade, at least in case of the Danish supporters. Tine Hundahl Jensen from the Danish Fans’ Embassy says: “In Kharkiv we collaborated with our Dutch colleagues, and so we helped organize the Danish

fans to take part in the Dutch fan-march from the city to the stadium.”

The relationship between Russia and Poland with all its historical baggage certainly was one of the difficult aspects of the tournament with the violent clashes in Warsaw a sad culmination point. But, there were also other stories to tell. Dmitri Stratievski recollects an event co-organized by the mobile team from Russia

“Our Fans’ Embassy (in cooperation with FC Polonia Fanclub, administration officials in Warsaw, Russian Football Union and the Presidential Administration of Russia) organized and carried out the flower-laying ceremony at monuments for the Warsaw Rising 1944 and for the Soviet soldiers who fought for Polish freedom. Officials from both countries, representatives from the Russian Football Union, representatives of Russian Fans’ Embassy, Russian and Polish fans and ordinary people came to the ceremony. This action which took place on the 11th of June sparked the interest of a big section of the media.”

On the road during the UEFA EURO 2012™

Fan matches for fun and charityA simple and very popular means of activity for Fans’ Embassies and mobile teams alike are, naturally, football matches between supporters, ideally of the opposing teams scheduled to play in the host city. During the EURO 2012 the Fans’ Embassies arranged a number of such matches in Poland and Ukraine: English, French and Ukrainian supporters played in Donetsk, Danes and Germans in Lviv, Poles and Irish in Torun. The level of organisation ranged from the more impromptu kick-about to the well-prepared action. The match played by Danish and German supporters in Lviv was arranged as a revival game for the final of the Championship in 1992, taking place in the stadium of the Polytechnic University the day before the “real” match in town. Some hundred spectators and a number of media teams saw an impressive Danish victory (8:2). Both

the two mobile teams and the Lviv Fans’ Embassy mention the match and the surrounding atmosphere as one of the highlights of their work during the tournament.

Also, the mobile team from Ireland arranged a match for supporters and had the good idea to connect this with raising money for local charities in Poland. Round 500 fans turned up for the game between Poland and Ireland (1:3). A donation of 4,500 Euro was raised via the Ireland fans’ website ‘You Boys in Green’. A good example to follow says Garrett Mullan, co-ordinator of the Irish mobile team: “The Fans match involving Polish and Irish supporters organised by one of our volunteers, Phelim Warren, attracted hundreds of local and Irish supporters and raised thousands for local charities. This kind of activity serves to promote goodwill when fans travel abroad and is certainly an activity which should be organised by other groups. Furthermore FSE is ideally placed to link up supporters groups to do such activity.”

Respect diversity!The mobile teams supported the project “Football for Equality– Challenging racist and homophobic stereotypes in and through football” by distributing its information material, stickers, buttons or t-shirts. The project is a European initiative carried out by various partner organizations of the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network, led by FairPlay-VIDC in Vienna and part-funded by the Fundamental Rights and Citizenship program of the European Commission. In the framework of this program the Euro Pride House in Warsaw was opened during EURO 2012. The Pride House was a place for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community to enjoy the tournament in safety alongside straight friends, allies and fellow supporters. The Euro Pride House was visited by several teams’ representatives from the FSE Fans’ Embassy program.

On the road during the UEFA EURO 2012™

Page 17: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

32 • • 33

Inter- mediating the fans’ perspectives

T he Fans’ Embassies and their initiatives form only one small part of the great number of

stakeholders, organisations and authorities involved in the successful management of a major football tournament. Cooperation therefore is of vital importance. Part of the job of the Fans’ Embassies is to “translate” the fans’ perspective to football bodies, authorities or the media. Representatives from the mobile teams, together with the stationary Fans’ Embassy, were present at UEFA security meetings together with the host city representatives, police, stadium security, etc.

In general, EURO 2012 set new standards and massively increase the level of collaboration with the different partners. For several of the mobile teams the tournament offered the chance to further the contact with their national football association. For the Italian Fans’ Embassy co-ordinator Andrea Palmieri even remarks on a landmark change after several years of international fan work: “For us it was very important to have, for the very first time in 12 years, a collaboration with the Italian FA and the spotters. That has improved our work ...” A similar comment comes from the Spanish mobile team who also note an “improvement of our relationship with the Spanish FA during the EURO”.

That the appreciation of the cooperation was mutual is proved by the feedback received for example by the Danish Fans Embassy. An officer from the National Danish Police (Rigspoliti) writes: “We have experienced that the Danish fans were very happy with your presence in the host cities, and we hope that FIFA will implement the same

initiatives as UEFA has done. […] We had a fantastic cooperation between the Fans’ Embassy and the police, and we therefore are looking forward to the next time we meet.”

Embassies and Fans’ EmbassiesThe cooperation with consulates and embassies turned out to be a useful asset for all parties involved. Obviously the consular agencies and their service work well together with the specific insight and contacts offered by the mobile Fans’ Embassy teams. The cooperation helped the Fans’ Embassy staff to help fans in trouble with police, hospitalised fans, and fans who lost passports, money or friends or were otherwise in need of consulate help. Here, the mobile teams and their Fans’ Embassy could act as points of mediation by providing contacts to the consular staff or to fans for the restoration of lost wallets or passports.

Recognition for the work comes for example from the Irish Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport: “Now that EURO 2012 is over, I want to pass on to you my own thanks and that of the Irish government for the superb work done by the Fans’ Embassy during the championship. I

saw at first hand the scale of the Irish support in Poznan and Gdansk and I understand from our consular staff that the Fans’ Embassy played a huge part in making sure that practically everything went smoothly.”

“Fans liked to communicate with us much more than with officials (e.g. police) and were grateful for our help” – that is an observation made by Ukrainian Fans’ Embassy coordinator Igor Gomonai. That the Fans’ Embassies were easier to approach as a first step than the local or national authorities is also supported by this experience from the Danish Fans’ Embassy:

“At one point we were contacted by some Danish fans that belong to the ultra scene in Denmark. If we could please contact the Danish police, and just let them take a walk through the area where the Danish fans were partying in Lviv. They were concerned that some of the ultras who had just arrived, were maybe a bit ‘rowdy’, and since they had enjoyed the hospitality of the Ukrainians, they just wanted to make sure that things would not develop to something negative. We then talked to the police, who were very impressed and glad that the boys had contacted us, and after a short walk through the bar the ‘rowdy’ fans could see that Danish police were present, and things calmed down.”

visit of the german interior minister hans-Peter friedrich at the mobile fans’ embassy in gdansk

On the road during the UEFA EURO 2012™

Taking a stand against racismMedia work had to be taken in stride by all the mobile teams: giving interviews, explaining the principles of Fans’ Embassy work, assessing the situation for the fans in Poland and Ukraine or predicting match results. In some cases however events demanded a swifter and more direct way of press work. Both the Russian and the Croatian mobile teams published statements on the issue of racist behaviour of “their” fans trying to bring in a more differentiated perspective. Likewise, the Spanish Fans’ Embassy dealt with a racist incident: During the first group match against Italy in Gdansk, there were so-called monkey chants coming from the Spanish sector targeting the Italian

striker Mario Balotelli. The incident was later investigated by the UEFA. The Spanish Fans’ Embassy team was present at the stadium and published a statement on the following day. As spokesperson for the team, Thomas Herzog, reported on the racist chants and condemned any kind of discrimination as “inacceptable”. However, he also pointed out what was missing in the media coverage: “We’re glad to report that the majority of the Spanish supporters reacted in a very positive way, because many of them tried to intervene very quickly and stop the fans in question from singing. We are clearly angry about this small section of Spanish supporters showing this kind of racist behaviour. But we have to stress that most of the Spanish supporters were very aware of this issue and tried their best to intervene.”

“Fans liked to communicate with us much more than with officials (e.g. police) and were grateful for our help”Igor Gomonai, Fans’ Embassies coordinator in Ukraine

the spanish fans embassy with the spanish consul in doenzk

On the road during the UEFA EURO 2012™

Page 18: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

34 • • 35

Fans’ Embassy Croatia The Fans’ Embassy Croatia was organized by the Football Logistics Organisation – FLO (UMKI) which provides support for various fans groups in Croatia by means of education (fan culture, social education) and serves as a info-point for fans and fan groups, especially the young. FLO (UMKI) is also involved in activities against racism and discrimination in football and has already organized the Croatian Fans’ Embassy during EURO 2008.

Coordinator: Zoran StefanovicContact: [email protected] information: www.vatreni.net

Fans’ Embassy Czech Rep.The Czech Fans’ Embassy was run by volunteers from the Czech Republic who are interested in working with fans, fan culture and fan activities who have special education, experiences and enthusiasm. Our team first worked together during EURO 2004 in Portugal, then both at the World Cup 2006 in Germany and EURO 2008 in Switzerland and Austria.

Coordinator: Bara JindrovaContact: [email protected]

Fans’ Embassy Denmark EURO 2012 marked the début of the Danish Fans’ Embassy – a collaboration between dedicated club fans appointed within the voluntary environment of the umbrella organization DFF, the Federation of Danish Football Fanclubs. For many years Danish fans have been among the most festive and cheerful. Our main objective was to give both Danes and all other fans a great experience in Poland and Ukraine.

Coordinators: Jens Andersen & Tine HundahlContact: [email protected] or [email protected] More information: www.fanambassade.dkhttp://fairfans.dk/dff-in-english

Fans’ Embassy England The Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) – organizing the English Fans’ Embassy – were one of the early pioneers of the Fans’ Embassy idea, and have been providing support and assistance to travelling England fans for well over a decade. The team are almost all volunteers giving their own time to help out fellow supporters, but over the years the team have built up a great deal of experience across the continent and indeed the world. Having been at doing this for so many years there’s virtually no situation that they haven’t come across.

Coordinator: Kevin MilesContact: [email protected] information: http://www.fsf.org.uk/freelions

Fans’ Embassy FranceThe Fans’ Embassy for French fans was available to assist football fans for the first time during EURO 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands, and has subsequently appeared at EURO 2004 in Portugal, the World Cup 2006 in Germany and at the last EURO 2008 in Switzerland/Austria. In order to prepare the EURO 2012 we have organised in Warsaw a Fans’ Embassy for the French fans during the friendly game Poland-France in June 2011.

Coordinator: Medhi TazraretContact: [email protected]

Fans’ Embassy Germany KOS who organized the German Fans’ Embassy was set up in 1993 to provide support to fan projects working in social education with football fans and to coordinate the establishment of additional projects. Beside the work done by KOS in Germany, fan project workers have also been involved in the international fan work. The greatest challenge in this area for KOS was the planning and realisation of the fan and visitors programme for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Coordinator: Michael GabrielContact: [email protected] information: www.kos-fanprojekte.dewww.fanguide-em2012.de

Mobile teams

On the road during the UEFA EURO 2012™

Fans’ Embassy of Ireland The Fans Embassy of Ireland was co-ordinated by Show Racism the Red Card (SRTRC). SRTRC are an educational charity which produces education resources using the role model status of sport stars to convey an anti-racism message to young people. Fans embassy work is part of our intercultural work. Our team for the EURO is supported by volunteers from the fans group You Boys In Green. Coordinator: Garrett MullanContact: [email protected] or [email protected] information: www.theredcard.ie

Fans’ Embassy Italy The first Italian Fans’ Embassy was made during the EURO 2000 in Belgium/Holland and it was organised by Progetto Ultrà, an Italian non-profit organisation working with ultra groups and the organisation of “Mondiali Antirazzisti”, an antiracist football tournament with teams from all over Europe. We organised Fans’ Embassies at the EURO 2004 in Portugal, in Austria/Switzerland at the EURO 2008 and in Germany for the 2006 World Cup.

Coordinator: Andrea PalmieriContact: [email protected] information: www.progettoultra.it

Fans’ Embassy Netherlands The organisation behind the Dutch Fans’ Embassy is the Supportersclub Oranje, the only official supporters’ club of the Netherlands’ national football team. It was founded in 1995 upon request of the Dutch Football Association, but is independent and has about 50,000 members. Our main activities are ticket distribution, information supply and organising fan events including the famous orange “fan march”. The work with FSE has started with the EURO 2012.

Coordinator: Rob PoldermanContact: [email protected] info: www.supportersclub-oranje.nl

Fans’ Embassy Russia Our mobile Fans’ Embassy at EURO 2012 is organized by competent experts of the Russian fan scene including members of various Russian fan groups in Moscow and St. Petersburg, supporters of the national team and of provincial football clubs. Our organization behind it is “Football without borders” and already at EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland we organised mobile Fans’ Embassies for Russian football supporters.

Coordinator: Dmitri StratievskiContact: [email protected] information: www.support-futbol.ru

Fans’ Embassy Spain The Spanish Fans’ Embassy team consists of social and volunteer workers coming from an association called CEPA. CEPA is a non-governmental organisation working in different social projects among other also with the Cádiz football club supporters in a fan project. CEPA started its international fan work in 2004 and has developed it ever since at World Cup 2006 and EURO 2008 and in other football matches played by the Spanish football teams in Spain and abroad.

Coordinator: Jose Maria Benitez MunozContact: [email protected] info: www.hincha.org

Fans’ Embassy Sweden Camp Sweden is the organisation behind the Fans’ Embassy Sweden. We started with a caravan and a flag with the words CAMP SWEDEN during the EURO 2004 in Portugal. Since then we have been growing and organised Swedish fan camps in Germany World Cup 2006 and Austria during EURO 2008 with thousands of participants. Since autumn 2010 we organise an official Swedish Fans’ Embassy at every match abroad and produce a fan guide.

Coordinator: Ola SjöstedtContact: [email protected] information: www.campsweden.se

Mobile teams

On the road during the UEFA EURO 2012™

Page 19: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

36 • • 37

ConClusions W e think it’s fair to say

that the Fans’ Embassy programme at EURO

2012 was a resounding success.

The scope of the task (the largest combined Fans’ Embassy project ever conceived and undertaken) was daunting, and yet the feedback, both internal and external, anecdotal and documented, has shown that its aims were clearly achieved. As you will have seen throughout this report, the feedback that FSE have received from external agencies, politicians and governing bodies has been overwhelmingly positive, and that’s without what all those grateful fans told us on the streets of Poland and Ukraine this past summer.

Whether it was because of the way our teams dealt with problems, or how they managed to help generate

one of the most fan-friendly atmospheres at a tournament to date, the response we have received has been fantastic. Fans’ embassies are clearly coming to be seen in the eyes of the tournament authorities as an integral part of its infrastructure, from which we can take great heart.

While some of the more established countries continued their good work and links with the police and authorities, EURO 2012 was the first time that some of our fans’ embassy teams received any substantial institutional support from their respective national FAs and governments, and were also praised highly for their work. We hope that these initiatives will be able to further this good work at qualifying fixtures and tournaments in the future.

External evaluation The effectiveness of the Fans’ Embassies can also be quantified, in terms of the responses given by its recipients to independent surveys. Projekt Spoleczny 2012 (a University of Warsaw research group) oversaw the conducting of a research project throughout the tournament, speaking with fans who had engaged with the Fans’ Embassies services and consented to giving their opinions.

The actions of the Fans’ Embassies were deemed effective with at least 75% of those surveyed – the conducted surveys showed that 88.9% of the participants were satisfied with the organisation and work of the Fans’ Embassies, and moreover 72% of our

Conclusions

‘clients’ did not search for other sources of information after contacting the Embassies.

We appreciate the work of Projekt Speoleczny, and their feedback and figures have helped us in reviewing the work we carried out, and formed a valuable part of the whole review of the Fans’ Embassy project at EURO 2012.

Internal evaluationInternally, we feel the project was also a success. We know it doesn’t all come down to numbers, but with hundreds of queries answered on the ground, thousands of interactions with supporters, tens of thousands of guidebooks, fanzines and

materials given out, and more than 18 million hits across our various websites we can be more than satisfied with the reach of our work.

That is not to say that we are complacent, however. Lessons are always there to be learned, and experiences, both good and bad, can only help us do better in future. Through its work at EURO 2012 FSE has succeeded in extending the body of experience in terms of the number of fans who can now pass on their fan-work credentials, as well as the awareness and interaction with the Fans’ Embassy concept.

With each passing tournament it becomes more and more an integral part of the make-up of the fans’ experience. We have come from a position little more than a decade or so ago where we had one or two small-scale setups to the case now where experienced fans can train and liaise with each other and share experiences from more than a dozen countries.

Scope for improvement There’s still scope for improvement – better funding, awareness and integration of fans’ embassies into the planning of future tournaments will be a focus for FSE. It is hoped FSE can lobby Uefa to include provisions for fans’ embassies into the bidding criteria for future events.

Having to organise an initiative across two countries, in different time zones and with different languages and alphabets proved a difficult obstacle, and yet the results were positive. We are sure that the lessons we learned in terms of organisation, planning and implementation of the project will make future tournaments run more smoothly – where the logistical difficulties are likely to be less.

Where mistakes were made, or processes were imperfect, we have learned from them. Ticketing and accreditation was the cause of some problems in terms of fan workers accessing the stadium, and we hope that closer co-operation with Uefa in future will help to iron out these, and similar, issues. The constant evaluation of our best practice models is naturally helped by our successes, but oftentimes more so through encountering these difficulties and problems.

At this tournament there were some very trying circumstances, not least with regards to violent clashes surrounding the Russia v Poland match, and a couple of racist incidents in stadia. The tragic death of one Irish supporter was an extremely sad event, but through each of these instances the fans’ embassies provided useful points of information and formed key parts of the process working with consular and security agencies, and in getting information out to the fanbase as an extension to the media. The lessons learned from a coordination point of view from these incidents have been fed into our evaluation processes.

Conclusions

Page 20: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

38 •

We intend to follow-up the good work of EURO 2012 with follow-up projects, supporting the work of the new fans’ embassy teams and furthering the institutional support and funding for the project at EURO 2016 and beyond. FSE will work on the following areas:

+Fans Embassy network meetings

+ Materials to promote Fans’ Embassy work

+ Further developing work methodology and standards

+ Training and start-up funding for new Fans’ Embassy schemes

+ Institutional support in home countries of new or structurally weak initiatives

+ Lobby events with key stakeholders – ie: European Parliament

Fans’ Embassies in figures:+Co-ordination offices – 2+Stationary Fans’ Embassies – 8+Languages of the

Fanguide 2012 website - 14+Co-ordination office staff – 15+Facebook and Twitter

feeds of the various Fans’ Embassy teams - 25

+Fans’ Embassy staff – 160+Phone calls answered – 2905+Twitter followers – 12,446+Facebook likes – 12,764+FSE Fanguide maps

distributed – 45,000 +Fanzines, maps and other

materials distributed – 84,590+Printed Fanguides distributed –

90,000 in 7 languages+Unique visitors to the

various Fans’ Embassy websites – 423,900

+Website hits in May and June – 18.2m

The 5 Most Frequently Asked Questions During The Tournament:1 Where is the Fanzone?2 Where can I get tickets?3 How do I get to the stadium?4 Where is the available

accommodation?5 Where is the... police/

post office/doctor/exchange/consulate?

INFORMATION BOX

Conclusions

Page 21: Euro2012 Evaluation Report

Football Supporters Europe (FSE)Coordinating Office • P.O. Box 50 04 03 • 22704 Hamburg

Germany

www.fanseurope.org