The World Cup of football, organized by FIFA (La Fédération Internationale de Football Association), will kick off in Brazil today June 12th. Brazil is known for being a football-loving country but protests across the country lately have shown that it is far from the everybody in Brazil who are happy that the world biggest football tournament will take place in their country.

Picture courtesy of Ben Tavener, Flickr.

Lots of promises have been made to the population of Brazil. Hosting a large event like the World Cup is expensive and obviously, in order to convince people that it will have a positive outcome, commitments such as an improvement of the infrastructure, modern airports and improved hospitals were made by the government, but they haven’t been completed yet. Sidharta from Saõ Paulo, Brazil, says to The AEGEEan: “I am not happy about it, which is a feeling shared by many Brazilians, and most of my friends. We are unhappy about the amount of money spent, when we have too many problems regarding education, the public health system, security etc… Also, there is a feeling that too much money has been diverged by corruptive politicians and people who are part of the organization of the Cup in the Brazilian side. Another important issue is that years ago, when our government committed to host the Cup, a lot was said about the legacy of the Cup. But now, we feel betrayed, since the so called legacy wasn’t fulfilled. Important promises, like the modernization of the airports, the high-speed train and accessibility improvements were never made. Also, since one year ago, when the protests began, the government have responded with too much violence. I think the more important benefit of the Cup was to open our eyes for the way our politicians have been conducting our country for years. I am just worried that once the ball starts to roll over the green field, the Brazilians forget that bitter reality and close the eyes and ears again.”

An example of this is the city of Natal where teams like Mexico, Cameroon, Ghana, Japan, Italy, Uruguay, Greece and USA will play and stay. At this beach destination the agreement was to build a light rail work, a new hospital, a beach front face-lift, and wheelchair-friendly sidewalks. After five years of preparation for the World Cup only little besides the arena and an untested airport were built.

The signature project for the World Cup was a $16bn high-speed rail service linking Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo but that is another thing that can be added to the list of infrastructures not completed. The President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff argues that it takes time to build the urban transportation system and completing large engineering projects.

Still, lots of money has been spend on the hosting of the event. Money that, as Sidharta mentioned, the Brazilians would prefer to see getting invested in the health and education system, sanitation, a better transportation system and much more security. Even the Brazilian football hero Pelé, by many claimed to be the greatest footballer of all time, has been critiquing publically the excessive spending of money that should be spent on schools and hospitals and not on building stadiums across the country. However, Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Rio, says it is private money that largely has been used for the financation of the venues and that the public money is being spend on legacy such as transportation, sewage and bus corridors that connect the venues with the isolated areas of Rio.

Picture courtesy of Ben Tavener, Flickr.

A survey by Pew Global shows that the dissatisfaction with the government’s direction has grown from 55 to 72 % in just one year. About six out of ten people believe that the World Cup has a negative effect, taking money away from public services, while others believe it gives the country a negative image especially due to all the unrest and protests taking place in the country since the Confederation Cup held last year.

As recent as one week ago the activists of the Homeless Workers Movement marched the streets demanding the government to invest in matters such as subsidized transportation, education and the health system. That protest went by peacefully but several of the protests have been receiving critique of the violence surrounding and especially the reaction by the security and police forces.

Ozgun Kaplama the Speaker of the Sports Working Group of AEGEE (SWG) says to The AEGEEan: “It’s the second time the World Cup happens in Brazil but this one will be interesting. As international society we all know Brazil for their football players, coffee and samba but I think examples like Arab Spring, Turkey and Ukraine give a trust to citizens who are uncomfortable about the problems. They want to show other sides of  the country. There are too many protest related to the competition, and people are against the expenses especially. Some stadium constructions are not ready yet. Protesters are more interested in social support than the World Cup. Also last year at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil there were some protests, and police used violence. Some fans who will go there as tourist are afraid about their security. We, the Sports Working Group are watching these actions closely, because it is related with our missions. But on the other hand we’ll watch the World Cup because we care about the sport for our ideals. Also there are some discussions about World Cup 2022 in Qatar. It will be the first time the competition will be held in the Middle East, so that is quite interesting too!”  

Sabina Begic who is the PR responsible of the SWG has been following the World Cup since her childhood and at one side believes that it is great for Brazil to show one more time how it is the land of football, how its national history is linked to football and to be the best host of the World Cup ever. As she has a few professional sportsmen in her close family, she received a sponsored opportunity to follow the World Cup in Brazil but she declined and she explains why: “After I survived four years of war for me security is the most important issue, and the security situation is unstable in Brazil considering the eco-political situation. Also, as much as I love football my full support and understanding is on the side of the Brazilians who are protesting and are angry over the expense of the World Cup.”

Picture courtesy of Thomás , Flickr.

However, it is not all negative. The Pew Global survey also shows that 34 % believe that hosting the World Cup is positive for Brazil and that it will create jobs in the twelve host cities. Also another poll as of June 2^nd shows that 51 % are in favor of the tournament and 42 % against.

Ieda from São Paulo, Brazil, says to The AEGEEan: “I think we all are one way or another looking forward to see it finally starting… Some will be relieved, some angry, and some like me will be just thrilled! I love to see all this energy from people coming and joining the party, but I know it’s not everyone’s feelings. There are a few Brazilians who are rooting against the world cup, as if it would solve all of our problems, and they insist on causing all kinds of political, economic problems, either by strikes or by spreading fake news and/or misinforming the population… But if our national team wins it, it will be just that: a victory. We’ll be all happy, we will celebrate and after a few days of partying and carnival, things will be the same again. So why not enjoy the moment?”

Picture courtesy of Jorge in Brazil, Flickr.

It is clear that something needs to be done. The country is filled with violent protests, dissatisfaction and the World Cup is only few days away. Furthermore, Rio de Janiero is the host city of the Olympic Games in two years from now in 2016 and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have also been loud with their critique, questioning the country’s ability to organize two large events at the same time. The Olympic Vice President John Coates said in April that the preparations for the world biggest sport event have so far been the worst he has ever seen, leading the IOC to increase the amount of visits and placement of experts in the local organizing committee.

With both events it is important to ensure the legacy for Brazil and to solve the issue of the violent protests. Miguel Gallardo from the Comité Directeur says to The AEGEEan: “I think a World Cup in Brazil assures a  great deal of spectacle, with a public which will vibrate with each match. I just feel  they missed the opportunity to create the necessary structures so  the event has a sustainable impact for the whole society. More and more news arrives about corruption, lack of labour rights and abuses, and the country seems to have adopted a critical attitude towards the world cup. Being Brazil, that’s a sign that something did not work. I hope they at least learned the lesson for the Olympics”. 

There will always be pros and cons and many questions to ask oneself regarding the matter of politics and sports. Sport and especially football enthusiast Armenak Minasyants, who is the Policy Officer for European Neighbourhood Police in AEGEE, says to The AEGEEan: “It is a quite complicated situation to deal with, but it also hugely depends from the angle you approach the situation. Yes, in Brazil there is a huge number of unemployment, quite high level of organized crime and corruption, and the people are lawfully protesting and asking for the better life conditions. But does the WC2014 (not counting financial aspects) really have much to do with the internal Brazilian problems and non-well state administration and governance? Hasn’t such dynamically developing country as Brazil deserved the right to host the WC2014 for the first time since 1950? If we observe the situation from a dramatic political point, I would be the first person to demand cancelling the WC2018 and WC2022 in Russia and Qatar respectively, due to numerous violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in these countries. But is it really in benefit of sport and the millions of people following it? It’s my conviction that sport may really unite the people, the nations and politicians for creating better conditions of life for everyone.”

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Zaragoza

Featured Picture courtesy of Upeters, Flikr

32 national teams from different nations are arriving in Brazil these days, ready to play football in the samba loving country. The AEGEEan – AEGEE’s Online Magazine together with the Sports Working Group (SWG) is anxiously awaiting the tournaments to commence on June 12^th  and have created an online initiative to gather AEGEE members interested in the World Cup.

Picture courtesy of Esporte Clube Pelotas, Flickr.

For AEGEEans who would like to follow the World Cup together, the SWG and The AEGEEan have created a Facebook group for football interested AEGEEans. Next to this, they organise a competition to predict the outcome of the matches, the football player that makes the most goals during the tournament and more. A fun way of gathering AEGEEans once again while following an international sport event together. The winner will receive his/her prize during Autumn Agora Cagliari. The participants of the competition get points according to how succesfully they guess who wins the matches. The deadline to be part of the whole competition is tonight at 20.00 CET before the opening match between Brazil and Croatia kicks off. Latecomers will also be able to predict the following games the deadline is simply at midnight CET the day before the match is played.

Brazil, Italy, Germany, Uruguay, Argentina, England, France and Spain. All very large countries who have in common that they have all previously won the FIFA World Cup, which will take place for the 20th time this month in Brazil. The host nation is also the only team that has participated in all the former nineteen editions of the tournament.

Spain, the reigning champion, also holds the title of the two previous EURO in 2008 and 2012, so all eyes are on the stars from Spain to see if they can defend their title. 48 games group stage games and 15 knock-out games will be held all over Brazil from June 12^th until July 13^th 2014.

Regarding the teams who will make it far the bookmakers predict Brazil to win the whole thing, which – due to political unrest also – could be very much needed for the country in order to also celebrate and have a positive aspect on the tournament being hosted in their country. Besides Brazil “bookies” also eye countries like Germany, Argentina and Spain as favorites to reach the final that will be played at the Maracana stadium.

The Maracana stadium where the final will take place
Picture courtesy of Leandro’s World Tour, Flickr

Ozgun Kaplama, the speaker of the Sports Working Group, agrees that Brazil is the favorite to win, but also points out that the excitement of “anything can happen” makes the World Cup very interesting. The Network section Editor of The AEGEEan, Svenja van der Tol, also believes that Brazil will win, but is not as football interested as Ozgun. She is more the type of person that likes following the international tournaments as the EURO and the World Cup. She even might be a bit like the typical watcher kindly disturbing the football fanatics during games as she tells The AEGEEan that she tends to talk over the commentators. For this reason she is happy that there is the initiative of The AEGEEans following the World Cup together on Facebook, because this means she will be free to talk during and after the games. When asked if she will contribute to the initiative she responds with eager. “Yes! I always bet on the European and World Cup and managed to score a place in the top 5 until now each time. Even when I predicted Rumania to win (really, I didn’t know anything about soccer and just went with the country I liked), I got third place and won money. Last European Cup I picked Spain, partly because red is my favorite color, and I ended up winning 200 euro because I was the only one trusting Torres to make a goal. I guess me and soccer betting is a combination of luck, good bets on match results and a huge lack of any soccer knowledge.”

Picture courtesy of JeepersMedia, Flickr

Miguel Gallardo from the Comité Directeur is also less interested in football as he is usually more keen on rugby, and says he most likely will not watch many matches, but follow it while listening to it or when meeting with friends. He is however delighted about the initiative of The AEGEEan and the SWG. “It is a great initiative that has worked really well before with Eurovision, European Parlament elections and even partially with the Olympics. Given the great deal of attention this will receive, I am sure that the discussions will be lively. I only hope we can keep nationalistic views aside!”

The People section Editor Erika Bettin tells The AEGEEan that her heart beats tricolor and she will be following the Italian team close, especially since she works at her radio station as a commenter during the Italian matches. In general too she won’t miss any matches “The tournament phase is quite impredictable. You can barely go through and then win the whole thing. I’m waiting for the round with 16 teams to start feeling the pressure. During the tournament I can’t wait for Italy – England and… Ok, let be honest here. I won’t loose a single match. I’m the type of person  who melts in front of the tv with a cold beer for one month. “

Another sport enthusiast is Armenak Minasyants, who is the Policy Officer for European Neighbourhood Policy and ecstatic about following the World Cup with fellow AEGEEans “It is so inspiring! We really need to pay much attention to such non-formal online stuff. This type of initiatives are useful, as we share our comments, posts, perspectives and simply boost the dialogue among the AEGEEans who may have never ever even met up. Surely it’s also a very good possibility to network between the locals.”

Picture courtesy of por .myke, Flickr

Both Miguel and Armenak will be following Belgium closely during the tournament, emphasizing the joy of how incredibly football can unite the Belgians. Armenak says “My dark horse and dream champion is Belgium. The multicultural Belgian team brings a real message to the WC2014 and everyone watching it. The Belgian team unifies players with so diverse cultural, religious and historical backgrounds. Though the players have these diverse backgrounds, they clearly understand that they may unify the whole Belgium under the tricolor. They are proving with their performances a historical desire to stand united and struggle for reaching the top of the iceberg. In the times when Europe was shattered by the far right party’s successes in the EP Elections and with the rising tensions and debates over the migration issues – the Belgian football team’s victory will be the real victory of multiculturalism in Europe.”

Moving on with the prediction, an interesting fact about the tournament is that the players who most likely will also be in Brazil and who scored the most goals in the pre-stage for the World Cup are Luis Suarez of Uruguay (11 goals) Robin van Persie of Holland (11), Edin Dzeko of Bosnia-Herzegovina (10), Oribe Peralta of Mexico (10) and Leo Messi of Argentina (10). Another interesting fact about Bosnia-Herzegovina is that it is the first time that they will be part of the largest football event in the world as an independent nation.

Graffiti protests on the streets of Brazil ahead of the World Cup
Picture courtesy of Ben Tavener, Flickr

The World Cup is not only about football. As many probably have heard there are protests happening in the street due to the Brazilian population being dissatisfied with the excessive spending of the public money on the World Cup and the Olympic Games that will take place in 2016 in Rio. Svenja has been to Brazil and for this reason has mixed feeling about the tournament starting June 12^th: “Ever since I went to Brazil I fell in love with the country, so I don’t mind getting to see more of it (even if it’s just the soccer fields), but I have my doubts about the impact it will have on the country itself. I have a lot of friends in Brazil, who have both negative and positive opinions, so it’s hard to figure out what the truth is. Every story has two sides in the end, but I do hope it will have a positive influence on the country after all.”

Although the World Cup is surrounded by a lot of negative press, there are also positive sides to the tournament. The World Cup also addresses important issues and is thus affected by international politics. A project started at the 2006 World Cup by FIFA is named “Football for the Planet”, and for the tournament that kicks off in a few days FIFA and the 2014 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee (LOC) have promised to implement projects addressing important areas of water, waste, energy, procurement, climate change and transportation.  Specifically for the tournament, FIFA and the LOC have been focusing on estimating the carbon footprint of the tournament and developing measures to avoid, reduce and offset its emissions. Although it has claimed that the Brazilian government does not complete the promises they have made, they created an important project to have green stadiums, give certified training courses on sustainable management for stadium operators, have an effective waste management in the stadiums and other tournament related venues according to regulations and to have a successful use of recycling during the tournament by working together with local cooperatives.

The trophy that the winning team of the 2014 FIFA World Cup will take home.
Picture courtesy of Warrenski, Flickr

The FIFA 2014 World Cup is interesting on many levels and Armenak helps point out in particular outstanding matches. “In the group stage the most entertaining matches would be in Group D, which includes Italy, Uruguay, England and Costa Rica. I guess all the matches in this group would be thrilling and atomic, but England vs. Italy match would be very specific, as these two teams have quite complicated relationship over the past years. There are also some more much anticipated matches to watch in the group stage, as for example Germany vs. Portugal, Spain vs. the Netherlands or Belgium vs. Russia, but the real fun would start in the play-offs.” 

Surely there will be much for The AEGEEans to follow closely together and have a great time, even though not being in Brazil or even in the same continent. You can find the Facebookgroup here.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Zaragoza

Featured picture courtesy of Norio.NAKAYAMA, Flickr

John Eikosidekas is one of the Agora Patra organisers. He is originally from the big land of USA but resides in Greece while his dream is to reside in Denmark in the future. In this article you can get to know more about John’s history and his interest in the European Level of AEGEE.

The AEGEEan: Can you tell us a bit about your background? Studies, interests etc.

John: Well then, I was born close to Chicago, in Illinois of the USA. I moved to Greece in 1999 when I was 10 years old. I moved to Patra in March 2008 to study Accounting. Although accounting turns out to be something that I don’t like as much as I thought, I always found ways to keep myself entertained, and having a hobby is one of them. One of my biggest interests, which I guess doesn’t surprise many AEGEEans, is travelling! I took my shot and went on the Erasmus program, a program I had heard about in High School and I always dreamt of doing this at some point in my future when I would be studying!

For how long have you been in AEGEE?

John: Unofficially, I have been in AEGEE since April of 2011 as a helper for different things (meetings, SU etc). But officially I joined AEGEE that year in September to apply for the Autumn Agora Skopje that would be going on. Since then I have been quite active on the local level. But after giving my services to the board for one year, I needed more! So I spread my wings and took my chances on the European Level.

How did you join AEGEE?

Once my Erasmus was over in February ’11, I became as miserable and depressed as any average Erasmus student when he/she returns to his/her hometown, the so-called “Post-Erasmus Depression”. But then, while I was speaking to a polish friend of mine via Skype, she mentioned this thing called AEGEE, and travelling, and having fun… I didn’t understand much of it, but it sounded good enough for me! So I came in contact with AEGEE-Patra, and my adventurous AEGEE journey began!

You have done an exchange in Denmark, what is it that you like about the North of Europe?

Is there something NOT to like??? Seriously, while living in Herning for my Erasmus I had a great experience. Bikes everywhere! And during any season! Usually in the south of Europe, especially in my region, if there is no sun, it seems to them “ridiculous” to use your bike to go somewhere. Meanwhile in Herning, people biked to go to school, biked to go to work, biked in the rain, biked while it snowed, biked with a briefcase, biked for sport…  PS. Biking when drunk is awesome! The chilly wind in combination with a possible rain or snowfall can really help your senses kick back in again!

What have you done on the European Level of AEGEE?

Well, I was the HR for the Environnmental Working Group (EnWG) for the past term (Budapest-Zaragoza). I am also a member of the Sports WG (SWG) and the Human Rights WG (HRWG). I helped out with proofeading for the SU 25th Anniversary booklet, and am also a writer and proofreader for the new Key2Europe coming out. Finally, I lately joinedThe AEGEEan team of freelance proofreaders. I have much in mind about the future, but it seems that for this year those plans will be taking a ride in the back seat, since I’m trying to finish my courses and find an internship abroad starting in September.

What is the EnWG about?

The EnWG is all about spreading awareness on environmental subjects. This may be the sole aim, but there are many means used to reach this goal. Firstly, we like having social meetings with a specific subject every month. Social meetings are a place where all members meet (via Skype), and discuss environmental issues. Either they have questions, facts or would like to share something about the subject, our social meetings are the place to be.

Secondly we all help out with spreading awareness within and outside of AEGEE. This may be in many different forms, whether it’s an article for our online magazine, or putting up posters at the Agora, even supporting the booth at the AEGEE fair… There are so many things people can do as individuals, and ideas are always welcomed if something innovating hits you!

Finally, as a local there are quite a few things you can do! Organizing a Green SU with your local, or having an environmental Action Day, even creating an EnWG within your local would be great!

Why would you encourage others to join the EnWG?

NWM Thessaloniki

For “Seizing the Day” of course! You can learn so much by joining the EnWG, and everyone learns and adapts other things from it. But what I gained were three things:

a) learning how to work in a different format than what I was used to. My local has a totally different way of working in comparison to the European Level, and that way I managed to bring ideas back to adapt to my local.

b) Meeting new people. Yes, sounds a bit cheesy, but meeting new people can do no one any harm! Like with anything that is done on the European level, you meet people from around Europe, and it brings us all one step closer to unite the people of this continent we all live in.

c) and last but not least, the environment! Daily, you learn new facts and figures about the environment, learn how to keep everything sustainable, and help spread the awareness to other members as well!

Interested in joining the EnWG? Don’t hesitate to send an e-mail showing your interest, or even asking any possible questions that may come to your mind! Contact us at: enwg.aegee@gmail.com

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Koebenhavn.

Originally posted in the Nordic Stars blog

The Sports Working Group (SWG) is preparing for this autumn by encouraging antennae to take part in interesting events such as the MOVE Week and Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) while also preparing for Autumn Agora Zaragoza and the upcoming elections for the SWG. In this interview the members look back on the last year.

Sabina Begic has been the PR responsible, Ángel Rodríguez has been the speaker, Özgun Kaplama has been focusing on FR, and Patricia Anthony has been the secretary of the SWG since October last year.

How has it been to be part of the SWG Board?

Patricia: It has definitely been a challenge but very rewarding as well. When SWG was created in Agora Enschede it was difficult to start a Working Group from scratch, but with the board of this past year it has developed a lot! Motivation was high in the beginning, and I hope to see the same happening for the next board – developing SWG even more.

Sabina: It was challenging and exciting. We started highly-motivated, had an enthusiastic and friendly team. During the year a few things changed in the board, so that also influenced us and our work.

Özgun: Very good for me. In SWG I learned that sport is not only sport. There are some sports events focusing on civil rights and social problems. This is a really nice opportunity to work on these problems from the perspective of sports.

Ángel: Many things have been done in the last year, it was really active at the beginning, but with time the members of the board became less active. I have learned many things about sports projects in Europe and met people from special organisations that fight for the evolution of social and civil rights in society. During this past year I have become active as volunteer for sporting events in my city and in AEGEE events, so it has opened my eyes and I have learned more how to focus on helping people.

What were the highlights?

Sabina: For me definitely the organisation of AEGEE Games together with AEGEE-León, and our Skype meetings with Daniel García Rodriguez from León.

Özgun: During Statutory Events’ Fairs, I could discuss with some people about the vision of fighting problems through sports. It was a nice experience.

Patricia: Developing different ideas that SWG can do for AEGEE and for the European youth. It has been amazing to see the working group grow.

Ángel: Meeting Adam Wide, a 60-year-old man who has more energy that a lot of AEGEE members… which is very difficult in my opinion.

What has been the most difficult part?

Sabina: The disappointment after finding out that we needed to cancel the AEGEE Games.

Özgun: Sometimes you cannot agree on a certain subject because of different opinions and different lifestyles but it is how you learn the most in volunteer work.

Ángel: Keeping the spirit on the European level is difficult when you do not have your mates by your side to discuss about the Working Group.

Patricia: Working together in a team that does not meat regularly and working across cultural borders is definitely a challenge. It continues to be a fight to activate AEGEE members on the European level and it was sad to see that events with great potential such as the AEGEE Games or International Day Against Homophobia could not be realized. However, the ideas are there and they will not get lost so hopefully it can happen next year!

Would anyone like to continue being in the board?

Özgun: Yes! I want to because I think I have many things to do for SWG.

Sabina: Yes, very much!

Ángel: I would love to continue, but it is time to end my PhD and I cannot focus on it while being in the board of SWG.

Patricia: After 1,5 years in the Sports Working Group I think it is time for some new people in the board other than me. However, I will continue as a member and help out as much as possible to see the projects that we have been working on will become reality.

Why would you encourage others to become part of SWG?

Ángel: To understand that AEGEE is more than fun and traveling, and show to them that Europe needs volunteers to improve the society and make life easier for people with difficulties of all kinds.

Patricia: Because being a part of a Working Group is an experience where one can learn a lot and develop skills such as creativity, teamwork, learning about cultural differences and so on. In the board there is a need for many different skills, and thus there have been difficult times, but I have really enjoyed working together with Ozgun, Angel and Sabina during this past year!

Özgun: It is a new part of your AEGEE experience. It gives you a nice start on the European level and it is great for those who love sports. Sports events are not only about physical activity, they can also help us create a better future.

Sabina: Because sports are the best tool to connect healthy activities, possibility for establishing contacts very quickly, to provide uncomplicated get-togethers, overcome language barriers and cultural reservations.

Written by Patricia Anthony, Secretary of the Sports Working Group

On August 29^th it was clear which teams were going to face each other in this year’s UEFA Champions League (Football) and it was also clear that The AEGEEan had joined forces with the Sports Working Group (SWG) to gather AEGEEans interested in football to follow the prestigious tournament.

The idea was brought by The AEGEEan’s Network editor Marije Arentze already in the spring, after the success of the Eurovision Facebook group. “Yesterday I was watching the Champions League final, and I was thinking that UEFA is something similar to Eurovision: it unites people from all over the continent by cheering for their own ideals. Eurovision by means of music and UEFA by means of football,” was the comment by Marije that started it all back in May.

During the summer the idea was, as many other things in AEGEE, left behind not only because of exhausting exams for the students of the Network but also because that is the time of the year when many of the AEGEE members flee to beaches and other fun activities.

Then, a few weeks ago, the idea was again picked up both in The AEGEEan, as well as in the Sports Working Group (SWG). From the beginning, the idea was to bring the two groups closer. In the end, developed both by Sports Working Group members as well as by members of The AEGEEan – AEGEE’s Online Magazine it is now possible to find a Facebook group of AEGEE members interested in following Champions League together.

This group has a lot of potential since football is a popular sport, and it can lead the SWG to members across the Network interested in sports. Champions League also brings on many different topics such as racism in football or the economy of the teams involved, which can possibly be the focus of the talks between the matches. An even greater success the group can achieve, is leading to events against homophobia and racism which have been some of the main causes in the SWG.

Which team will be the winner of the different matches? Who will be the football player with the most goals? Who will bring the trophy home after the final in Lisbon next year? All these are questions that AEGEE members can try to answer and round by round it will be interesting to see which people, and from where in the Network, know most about the sport. In the end, as in Champions League there will be a winner, not with a trophy, but indeed with a prize. For now the main aim is to have fun and bring the people of the Network closer to each other.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København