World Footy News

Riley Brettell from AFL Europe reports that the Swedish city of Norrtälje will host the 2019 Euro Cup. The city is home to 2016 SAFF premiers, the Norrtälje Dockers. The decision will be an enormous boost for the game in Sweden, but also neighbouring Scandinavian, Baltic and northern European nations. 

AFL Europe can today confirm the date and location for one of the feature events on the 2019 European football calendar, with the 9-a-side Euro Cup to be held in the picturesque city of Norrtalje in Sweden, hosted by AFL Sweden in conjunction with AFL Europe on Saturday, June 29th. 

 

The harbour city lies one hour north of Stockholm and is known for its small-town feeling, cobblestoned streets and buildings which date back to the 1700’s and will set an idyllic scene for the annual tournament, that will see men’s and women’s national teams from around the continent competing for the crown of European Champions in the heart of the Swedish summer.

President of AFL Sweden, Ryan Tucker, said Sweden was “ecstatic” to have the opportunity to host Euro Cup 2019 and showcase all that Swedish hospitality entails, along with continuing the growth and development of Australian Football in the country.

“Our vision of this tournament is of a meeting place for all participants of AFL Europe. There will be some fantastic footy played as well as the opportunity to make some lifelong friendships and explore what Sweden, Stockholm and Norrtälje have to offer,” Tucker said 

“We want the players and officials that travel to the 2019 Euro Cup to be able to experience a lot more than a yearly footy tournament. A lot of time and effort will be placed into what happens in the days surrounding the tournament and the areas of the venue not taken up by footy pitches.” 

Tucker says that players, support staff and supporters will be treated to a unique venue that is situated just 500m from the city centre, with games played across five grass pitches and plenty of room for recreation. 

“A buzz has already been created among locals who look very much forward to being able to have an international sports tournament held in their very own city!” he said. 

While this Euro Cup 2019 announcement comes earlier than usual with preparations for October’s Euro Cup 2018 to be held in Cork still underway, AFL Europe General Manager, Ryan Davey, said it was important to give the host nation ample time to prepare. 

“We wanted to make sure the hosts received a minimum of 12 months’ notice of when the events would be held to ensure they can plan to capitalize on hosting this event and establish ways to keep costs as low as possible for the participants,” he said.

“As a result, waiting until this year’s GAM in Cork to determine the location of Euro Cup 2019 was not an option.”

“I would like to thank AFL Sweden for their commitment to the growth of the game in Europe and also to the development of the Euro Cup event itself. We are very excited to work alongside them to make it a great success.”

To view the original AFL Europe article, go to: http://www.afleurope.org/euro-cup-2019-annoucement/