Sunday is for soccer!

The ECS football tournament will soon reach its half way point. In total, some 150 stagiaires are playing in this legendary tournament which will rank DGs according to their football skills. The fun is not only reserved for the players, but also for supporters who come to cheer their DG teams to success on Sunday evenings! 

In addition to the question of where our team name "Trash" comes from, I’m often asked what's it like being one of the few girls in the tournament. After having spent basically my whole childhood and teenage years on football pitches, I find it difficult to answer! For me, it’s all about love of the game – suddenly catching yourself smiling in the middle of a match – and it doesn't really matter if your hair is longer and blonder than your teammates’. But I have to tell you a secret – it's sometimes quite funny to watch the reactions of male players when they don’t really know what to think or how to play when you appear on the pitch for the first time… 

In the Scandinavian countries, Germany and the US, football is one of the biggest female team sports and the number of girl players is increasing rapidly. This summer offers a great opportunity to get more familiar with football when the Women’s World Championship will be played in Germany. But before heading to Germany, come next Sunday to Woluwe and hooray our Trade- and Ashton-team to a victory!         

Outi Nieminen,
EEAS