Fans Embassies on FSE - EURO 2012 - Official Fan Hosting programme kicks off

The International Conference Fans' Embassies – Fan Hosting at UEFA EURO 2012™, organised by Football Supporters Europe (FSE), will take place in Gdansk, Poland on 28 and 29 October 2010.

More than 100 representatives from UEFA, the Council of Europe, PL.2012, the LOC Ukraine, the Polish and Ukrainian FAs and Premier Leagues, Polish and Ukrainian Ministries of Sport, Tourism and Interior, foreign embassies and consulates in Poland, Polish football clubs and local politicians will share their knowledge of fan hosting concepts at major football events with representatives of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and UEFA EURO 2008™ in Austria and Switzerland. Together with international fan experts from the FSE Fans' Embassy division and fans from the host cities in Poland and Ukraine common strategies for successful fan hosting at the upcoming UEFA EURO 2012™ will be discussed.

In four workshops and a panel discussion the conference participants will be able to learn about the latest developments concerning UEFA EURO 2012™ and to exchange know-how with international experts on the following fields of action: Fans' Embassies, Fans, Hospitality and Safety & Security.

FANS' EMBASSIES – for fans, by fans

Fans' Embassy is the name that has been given to an advice, information and support service for football supporters, particularly those visiting a tournament abroad. The provision of Fans' Embassy services forms a very constructive and positive part of the hospitality programme at major football tournaments. The various Fans' Embassy teams and members of FSE look back on 20 years of experience in this field, and the provision of Fans' Embassy services is now integral to UEFA's plans. Furthermore, for several years now, Fans' Embassies have been identified together with other fans' projects/initiatives as essential tools for successful prevention at international football tournaments by the European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour, in particular in its newly adopted recommendation on "supporters' charters". With this conference, FSE and its partners now intend to promote the socio-preventive concepts of stationary and mobile Fans' Embassies in preparation for UEFA EURO 2012™ in Poland and Ukraine.

The conference is organised by the Fans' Embassy division of Football Supporters Europe (FSE) together with PL.2012 and the City of Gdansk in preparation for UEFA EURO 2012™. Moreover, the FSE Fans' Embassy Conference receives full support from the Council of Europe Standing Committee of the European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour.

Kevin Miles (Football Supporters Federation England & FSE Fans' Embassy Core Group member):

"The welcome given to visiting fans is crucial to the success of an international tournament, and our experience has demonstrated that the provision of a Fans' Embassy service in all host cities can make a significant contribution in this direction. We warmly welcome this opportunity to enter into dialogue with the Euro 2012 host cities about how we can work together to deliver a top quality service."

Zbigniew Weinar (Vice Director of Euro 2012 Bureau, Host City Gdansk):

"If the fans leave our city in positive mood after the event, it is a great chance that they return here one day. They will take their families and friends and come to spend holidays in a nice and well remembered place. They will come to a friendly seaside city with solid infrastructure, worth to spend their time off. But we shouldn't talk only about holidays. Some of them may as well consider Gdansk a city worth investing money – perhaps opening a company's branch or starting new business. After all, convenient net of modern roads, state of the art sport venues that can accommodate thousands of people not only on match days but also during concerts and other huge events, can be considered a good incentive."

Marcin Herra (President PL.2012):

"The process of Poland's preparations for the tournament does not boil down to just getting the stadia, roads and airports ready. It involves also organizational projects which, to a large extent, determine the event's success. Estimates show that close to one million people will come to Poland for the occasion. Safe stadia, good information systems and professional service are the best guarantee of great fun and an encouragement for the visitors to come and see Poland again."