One week left until the day of arrival: "Have longed for this feeling"
In a week, 1056 teams from 30 nations will arrive in Gothenburg to participate in the Partille Cup. Partille Cup's general secretary Fredrik Andersson can't wait.
– I have longed for this feeling. It will be so much fun to meet everyone again. We have been waiting for almost three years, he says.
At the time of writing, 1056 teams are registered for the tournament.
– We are very satisfied. We are well prepared and we should be, given the long wait. The young people who can come think this is fantastic. Then we have respect for the fact that the corona virus still exists. Many countries still have restrictions and requirements for PCR testing when traveling. It has also happened a lot financially, which has led to increased costs. We also have respect for that, says Fredrik Andersson.
Partille Cup and Gothia Cup now have a joint event organization consisting of 16 people.
– We still have a very large experience at the same time as it is a new organization and new contact persons, not only here but also within the city of Gothenburg.
There are several benefits of having a common organization for the world's largest youth tournaments in handball and football.
– The main thing is that we should be able to invest together for the future and facilitate our communication. We will find synergy effects and make the whole thing a big deal.
The tournaments now have common contact persons in different areas.
– It has previously been a bit scattered when a person who works with, for example, plans also has to keep track of judges and other things. We now have a common contact person for each area and can then become experts in, for example, plans. It is a synergy effect, says the general secretary.
In total, the Partille Cup will have 1 500 invaluable officials during the handball party. Even there, there is an advantage to a common organization.
– If we have an official at the Partille Cup, we can give the person a better offer by offering assignments at both tournaments. This is good for both us and the officials.
He believes that much will be similar to the 2019 edition.
– The focus has not been on inventing new things. A lot is about us having to get on the track again and be able to run a tournament again.
But there will be some news!
– We have invested a lot of resources in the digital experience. We have invested in AI cameras - that is, cameras that are controlled by artificial intelligence - as well as the app, live reporting and live streaming. It will be a streaming record this year, says Fredrik Andersson.
The opening ceremony will be moved back to Scandinavium.
– It was nice at Liseberg during the anniversary year but Scandinavium is indoors and a little easier. There we can do more with the show. Joel Börjesson is the choreographer this year. Sara Nord, who previously worked with the opening ceremony, is instead working with the Leaders Party.
This year, girls aged 16 will play the national team tournament European Open Championship. 17 nations are registered and the final will be played in Scandinavium on Friday.
– EHF president Michael Wiederer will come here and watch, says the general secretary of Partille Cup.
He thinks that everything feels good with one week left until the big day of arrival.
– We have to keep our fingers crossed for the weather, so that it does not get too hot and not too cold and no rain.
During the last week, everything should fall into place.
– It's like a big Tetris. We have prepared all the pieces and now the pieces will fall into a perfect formation. It is important to have a good foundation to stand on and I must say that we have. Now we go through checklists, pack all the material, make minute schedules for the opening ceremony and so on. It's a sharp situation now, says Fredrik Andersson.
Partille Cup looks forward to welcome you all to an unforgettable week of handball and friendship!
Eric Nilsson
