2015 European Junior Championships; Final Preparations Underway

| American Football | 06/02/2015

With less than a month left before the Sparkasse 2015 European Junior Championships in Dresden, Germany all the teams are in the final preparation stages for the tournament which starts June 25.

The host country, Germany held a training camp in mid-May and then defeated Switzerland in a tune-up game 48-0 on May 25 in Stuttgart, Germany.

In Dresden, Germany will face France on June 25 in the semi-finals at Dresden’s Heinz-Steyer-Stadion , while defending champion Austria will take on Denmark at the same venue. The gold and bronze medal games are scheduled for June 27.

In May, the French sped through their qualifying tournament on home soil, shutting out both Italy (35-0) and Serbia (49-0). France won the European Junior Championships in 2004 and 2006, on both occasions beating Germany in the championship final.

In 2011 and 2013, the “Equipe Tricolore“ were the runner-ups to Austria in the championship finals.

The Austrians are the reigning U19 champions and will start their quest for a third title in an row against Denmark. The Danes won their qualifying tournament at home with victories against Great Britain (31-19) and Sweden (31- 0).

The Sparkasse European Junior Championships in Dresden will be the second U19 Championship final tournament in a row held in Germany. In 2013 Germany stepped in as a replacement host for Russia.

The tournament’s key sponsor, Ostsächsische Sparkasse along with the City of Dresden and the State Ministry of the Interior of the Free State of Saxony are the three partners who have provided generous support for the event both financially and conceptually.

With their support, the organizing committee has been able to fund all boarding and lodging costs for the entire tournament in Dresden for all participants. The focus of investment was to ensure that all the teams could focus on football without having to worry about anything else. With accommodation and meals being covered by the organizers all participating federations can use their own budgets for the preparation of their teams.

The four teams remaining are expected to put on a great exhibition of American football

This is an outstanding opportunity to see Europe’s finest young football players! Fans will be arriving from all parts of the continent. This will be a treat.

Tickets for the semi-finals on June 25 and the final games on June 27 at Heinz-Steyer-Stadion in Dresden are on sale now: Ticket prices range from 5 to 12 Euro. You can order your tickets here.

Roger Kelly is an editor and a writer for AFI. A former PR Director the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League for 7 years, he now lives in Sweden writing about and scouting American Football throughout the world.