The fastest goal and the biggest audience: what records did the final tournament in Estonia break?
In May, the UEFA Women’s U17 Championship final tournament took place in three Estonian cities, during which France was crowned European champion. It was the biggest event in the history of Estonian women’s football: several hundred people contributed to the successful event, and a record number of people attended the games in the stands.
The tournament broke the first record already on the opening day, when the Estonian women’s U17 national team brought the largest audience of the current year in Estonia to the stands at the match against Switzerland. More than twice the number of spectators came to the stands for the final match: the decisive game between Spain and France brought to the stands the largest audience of any women’s football match held in Estonia ever.
According to tournament director Juss Tamming, the big event was organizationally successful and he is grateful for the contribution of all parties. “Many thanks to UEFA for their trust – we once again showed that Estonia is a capable and professional host country. The event could not have taken place in such a form if we had not had such good support from the football association collective, host cities, stadiums, volunteers and all spectators,” said Tamming.
Women’s U17 European Championship final tournament in numbers:
15 games were played at the tournament
10,756 was the total attendance for the final tournament
3179 pairs of eyes watched the Spain – France final, which became the women’s football match with the largest number of spectators in Estonia.
1325 people came to the stands for the match between Estonia and Switzerland, which was the most watched group match
In the 50th second, Spanish captain Vicky López scored the fastest goal in the history of Women’s U17 Championship final tournaments. Spain beat Germany 2-0 in the match, López was also the author of the second goal
With a capacity of 14,336 spectators, Lilleküla stadium became the largest stadium to host the tournament
In 32 countries, the tournament was broadcasted on TV
400 outdoor advertisement spaces were covered with tournament visuals in host cities
120 people were part of the organizing team of the tournament
30 cooperation partners supported catering, security services, fuel, transport, accommodation and many other areas
100 volunteers participated in organizing the tournament in three cities
25,000 kilometers were covered by 64 vehicles that were part of the tournament fleet
A total of 4,000 accommodation nights were spent in Estonia by the teams, organizers and officials (not including the fans from foreign countries, foreign media, parents and others!)
443 girls were involved on game days as mascots and ball girls
287 girls participated in football festivals in the host cities
37 women completed the EJL D coaches training (specifically for women)
Photo: Katariina Peetson/jalgpall.ee