Uefa Champions Festival Schedule Unveiled
UEFA has revealed the full schedule of events for the annual UEFA Champions Festival, taking place in London on 23rd to 26th May, throughout the build up to the big game between Dortmund and Bayern Munich at Wembley next Saturday.
The free four-day football celebration, featuring a series of family-friendly activities, will be the first major event to come to the home of the 2012 London Olympics since last summer, taking place on The International Quarter close to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and celebrating women’s football, futsal and grassroots football.
The festival will offer visitors an array of activities each day, including a variety of skills clinics and competitions, organised by UEFA and its partners, while competition winners can take part in coaching courses led by professionals throughout the week.
The first day of the festival, Thursday 23rd May, will be dedicated to women’s football, with girls’ training sessions led by UEFA Women’s Champions League ambassadors, including Faye White.
The day marks the 2013 UEFA Women’s Champions League final between VfL Wolfsburg and Olympique Lyonnais – to be played at Chelsea FC’s Stamford Bridge that evening.
England internationals Eni Aluko, Carly Telford and Hannah Blundell together with the England women’s under-17 coach Lois Fidler will also be at hand for training tips at girls’ grassroots matches in the afternoon.
On Friday 24th May the focus of the UEFA Champions Festival shifts to futsal. Futsal is the small-sided format of football that many greats of the game played when growing up to hone their skills.
In addition to futsal tournaments for youngsters, futsal legends Ricardinho and Javi Rodríguez will be present to offer some hints and tips on the sport. The day will also see two showpiece games when the FC Barcelona U-23 futsal team take on the England senior futsal team before a team of football legends, including Cafu, Robert Pirès, Vítor Baía and Giovanni van Bronckhorst, test their futsal skills with players from five-time English national futsal champions Helvécia Futsal London in a celebrity futsal match.
Saturday 25th May is dedicated to the UEFA Champions League at the festival, as the world builds up for the final. The day includes the Ultimate Champions Match, which will see UEFA Champions League legends go head-to-head in a five-a-side game.
The final day of the festival includes dedicated grassroots games as well as a demonstration of disability football. There will also be an unsighted penalty shoot-out which festival visitors can try out, with Dave Clarke, an unsighted footballer, and Mark Hunter, an Olympic gold medallist rower.
Steve McManaman, the 2013 UEFA Champions League final ambassador, said of the festival: ‘This year’s UEFA Champions Festival is going to be better than ever, and it is fantastic to have the event in Stratford as the area really came alive last summer for London 2012. The programme of events is outstanding and with the different themes and focus for every day we can be sure there is something for everyone making it a perfect family day out.’
