UEFA Champions Festival in Paris
Fan festival to take place at place Trocadéro from 13-17 May
The UEFA Champions League Final between FC Barcelona and Arsenal FC, which takes place at the Stade de France on 17 May 2006, is to be preceded for the first time ever by a new football festival called the UEFA Champions Festival.
This new event will take place over five days, opening at 10:00 (CET) on Saturday 13 May and closing at 18:30 (CET) on Wednesday 17 May, the day of the final itself. Taking place just opposite the Eiffel Tower, the UEFA Champions Festival will be a true celebration of European club football and will include a host of activities, football events and fun matches. The festival will be open to all fans in the city of Paris and there is no charge for entry.
UEFA, the French Football Federation (FFF) and the Municipality of Paris have created a whole village atmosphere that will welcome and come alive with football supporters, allowing them to test their football skills on mini-pitches with five-a-side games, skills clinics and penalty shootouts. A specially positioned giant screen will carry entertainment throughout the five days with the support of the UEFA Champions League official sponsors and there will be an official merchandising sales point for fans to buy souvenirs.
Former France captain and World Champion, Laurent Blanc, in his role as UEFA Champions League ambassador will open the festival site on Saturday 13 May at 10:30.
Fans will also have the opportunity to take a closer look at the new UEFA Champions League Trophy, on display after its trophy tour around the whole of France.
On Sunday 14 May, to further celebrate fifty years of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup/UEFA Champions League, a 50 hour non-stop football match, known as the Starball match, will take place on the main pitch at the Trocadéro, kick-off at 10:00. It will feature two five-a-side teams made-up of around 500 players each. The match will end on Tuesday 16 May at 12:30.
Meanwhile just across the Seine, the UEFA Young Champions tournament will take place on 13/14 May at the Stade Emile Anthoine near the Eiffel Tower. This grassroots tournament is designed for youngsters aged between 10 and 16 years old, and 128 teams will be playing a five-a-side round robin competition. The best teams go through to play the semi-finals and final, on Wednesday 17 May at 18:00 hours, on the main pitch at the UEFA Champions Festival site.
The UEFA Champions League Final between FC Barcelona and Arsenal FC, which takes place at the Stade de France on 17 May 2006, is to be preceded for the first time ever by a new football festival called the UEFA Champions Festival.
This new event will take place over five days, opening at 10:00 (CET) on Saturday 13 May and closing at 18:30 (CET) on Wednesday 17 May, the day of the final itself. Taking place just opposite the Eiffel Tower, the UEFA Champions Festival will be a true celebration of European club football and will include a host of activities, football events and fun matches. The festival will be open to all fans in the city of Paris and there is no charge for entry.
UEFA, the French Football Federation (FFF) and the Municipality of Paris have created a whole village atmosphere that will welcome and come alive with football supporters, allowing them to test their football skills on mini-pitches with five-a-side games, skills clinics and penalty shootouts. A specially positioned giant screen will carry entertainment throughout the five days with the support of the UEFA Champions League official sponsors and there will be an official merchandising sales point for fans to buy souvenirs.
Former France captain and World Champion, Laurent Blanc, in his role as UEFA Champions League ambassador will open the festival site on Saturday 13 May at 10:30.
Fans will also have the opportunity to take a closer look at the new UEFA Champions League Trophy, on display after its trophy tour around the whole of France.
On Sunday 14 May, to further celebrate fifty years of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup/UEFA Champions League, a 50 hour non-stop football match, known as the Starball match, will take place on the main pitch at the Trocadéro, kick-off at 10:00. It will feature two five-a-side teams made-up of around 500 players each. The match will end on Tuesday 16 May at 12:30.
Meanwhile just across the Seine, the UEFA Young Champions tournament will take place on 13/14 May at the Stade Emile Anthoine near the Eiffel Tower. This grassroots tournament is designed for youngsters aged between 10 and 16 years old, and 128 teams will be playing a five-a-side round robin competition. The best teams go through to play the semi-finals and final, on Wednesday 17 May at 18:00 hours, on the main pitch at the UEFA Champions Festival site.
For a full schedule of events and more information media and fans can consult the official UEFA website http://www.uefa.com/ or simply come down and visit the UEFA Champions League Festival site.
N.B. For security reasons the UEFA Champions League final itself will NOT be shown on the giant screen installed at the Champions Festival site on the night of Wednesday 17th May.