The draw for EURO FOOT Jeunes – the European schools tournament set to take place from 29 May to 5 June in Lens and Lille – was made on Tuesday, 29 March, in the sumptuous surroundings of the Louvre-Lens museum, in the presence of Super Victor, the official mascot of UEFA EURO 2016.
This tournament, which is supported by the UEFA Foundation for Children and organised jointly by France’s National Union of School Sport (UNSS), the International School Sport Federation (ISF), EURO 2016 SAS and the French Football Federation (FFF), will bring together almost 1,000 young footballers – both boys and girls – from a total of 45 different countries.
“The UEFA Foundation for Children is delighted and very proud to be supporting this UNSS tournament alongside EURO 2016 SAS. This is a wonderful opportunity for young footballers to play an indirect part in the senior tournament,” said Hosni Ajala, a representative of the foundation.
The draw, which was accompanied by a dance performance by local schoolchildren, was conducted by Olivier Dacourt, formerly of RC Lens and the French national side, in the presence of numerous distinguished guests, notably Jean-François Ceca, deputy mayor of Lens with responsibility for sport, Laurent Petrynka, national director of the UNSS, and Luc Johann, rector of the local education authority.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be here today, both because I played in this city for RC Lens and because I am proud to be supporting this youth football event,” Dacourt said, before conducting the draw for the girls’ and boys’ competitions with the aid of French musician Lord Kossity and Lille OSC and French international Rio Mavuba respectively (see results below).
“We want the Schools EURO 2016 to be an opportunity to strengthen the educational dimension of the UNSS on the back of this major international sporting event hosted by France,” Petrynka said in his speech at the draw.
Thus, young players from all over the world will have a unique opportunity to come to northern France and compete for this highly prestigious trophy, playing in the fantastic sports facilities made available for this tournament by LOSC Lille Métropole and RC Lens – namely Stade Pierre Mauroy, which will host six matches at EURO 2016, and La Gaillette, RC Lens’ training complex and player development centre.
The results of the draw were as follows:
Boys’ competition
Group A
Türkiye (seeded)
England
Bulgaria
French Overseas Team
Netherlands
Azerbaijan
Group B
France (seeded)
Romania
Cyprus
Greece
Russia
Group C
Croatia (seeded)
Germany
Poland
Switzerland
Belgium Wallonia
Group D
Hungary (seeded)
Serbia
Flanders
Italy
Northern Ireland
Luxembourg
Girls’ competition
Group A
Switzerland (seeded)
Türkiye (seeded)
Netherlands
Russia
Northern Ireland
Group B
France (seeded)
Germany (seeded)
Brazil
Greece
French Overseas Team