The UEFA Foundation for Children is supporting three projects organised by EURO 2016 SAS on the initiative of Michel Platini and Jacques Lambert.
These three projects will enable some 20,000 young people from France and 1,500 from elsewhere in Europe and the rest of the world to get involved in this summer’s magnificent celebration of football.
20,000 children’s smiles
The UEFA Foundation for Children is offering 20,000 EURO 2016 match tickets to associations that work with vulnerable children in France, whether as a result of family problems, social exclusion, health issues or abuse. The youngsters, aged 12 to 16, will be selected from areas in or around the ten host cities.
Tickets will be available for a total of 43 games, i.e. all the group matches (except the opening match) and the round of 16. Each host city will have 2,000 tickets to distribute. The UEFA Foundation for Children is the sole point of contact for the host cities for this project, and the cities themselves are liaising with the local beneficiaries.
European schools tournament: EURO FOOT JEUNES 2016
The host cities of Lens and Lille are hosting a European schools tournament from 29 May to 5 June, just days before the opening match at UEFA EURO 2016.
This event will bring together almost 1,000 boys and girls from the countries of the 30 UEFA member associations not represented at this summer’s finals. The aim is to get all 54 UEFA member countries involved in the greatest celebration of football in Europe.
International solidarity tournament
Some 600 young people from the most disadvantaged communities in Europe and the rest of the world will take part in an international solidarity tournament as part of streetfootballworld Festival 2016, which will run from 30 June to 7 July in conjunction with Sport dans la Ville.
This international community initiative will be a sort of EURO of its own for the young people involved. It will be a celebration of football as a sport that is open to all, a fundamental principle of the game that we hold dear and defend firmly.