Football Supporters Europe (FSE) recently spoke to Adrián Núñez Corte from the Spanish Fans’ Embassy about his experience of UEFA EURO 2020.
What has been your experience of running a Fans’ Embassy during a pandemic? Different to normal?
I cannot make a comparison because this has been my first tournament working for a Fans’ Embassy. But, of course, the need to use a more digital approach to contact fans instead of direct action on the ground has been something new compared with my previous experiences of fan engagement.
What have been the main challenges?
As we are mostly a new project, our first task was to connect with the fans, and that isn’t an easy one because the Spanish fanbase is relatively unorganised.
Then, once we reached the knockout phase, we started to play outside of Spain, and the short time to collect information in a changing environment and provide it to fans to allow them to prepare their trips was difficult. This also included the frustration of many loyal fans of not being able to travel to the semi-final in London.
What have been the main positives?
Collaborating with other fans, both within our own fanbase and with other Fans’ Embassies, has been brilliant.
What’s more, we have fostered several new relationships with national team fans, which opens up the possibility of growing the project in the future.
And a special mention for the semi-final game, where we had the opportunity to help UK residents watch and support Spain at Wembley.
Why do you think Fans’ Embassies are important?
The first thing fans need when they’re traveling to an international tournament is good information. Organisers and governments do not always provide enough timely, quality information that is relevant to fans, especially if there are a lot of games across borders in a short period of time.
I think this has been one of the most pressing problems during EURO 2020, and Fans’ Embassies have worked hard to solve it.
Find out more about Fans’ Embassy Spain:
Instagram @fansembassyesp
Twitter: @fansembassysesp
Facebook: Fans-Embassy-Spain
Email: fansembassyspain@gmail.com
