UEFA EURO 2020 Trophy Tour Lands In Glasgow

Glasgow welcomes the Henri Delaunay Cup from 31st May - 3rd June as EURO excitement builds in the city with only 2 weeks until Scotland's first match at Hampden Park. 

On the penultimate stop of the host cities tour, the iconic UEFA European Championship Trophy will visit a series of community events across Glasgow. Participants in Glasgow Life’s ‘Play Your Game’ programme will be able to enjoy their session in the company of the trophy, with Tiny Tots to Walking Footballers showing off their skills in front of the precious silverware. Joining the trophy on its tour of Glasgow are the official EURO 2020 freestylers and mascot, Skillzy. 

Due to on-going Covid-19 restrictions and to ensure the safety of participants, Glasgow’s UEFA EURO 2020 Trophy Tour plans include a small number of community events.

DAY ONE

Going from strength to strength in the east end of Glasgow, Easterhouse Football Academy supports 130 young people from the local community across various age groups. Many of those young people were delighted when they had a surprise visit of the EURO 2020 Trophy on its first stop as part of its short stay in Glasgow. 

Daniel Cameron has been running amateur side Easthall Star for 30 years, and founded the Easterhouse academy in March 2020. Daniel said, "I would have loved to have been able to highlight this and have 3,000 kids here - but we know that during Covid we couldn’t do it. To have the honour to have the trophy come to Easterhouse and showcase it to the kids is amazing".

"It's unbelievable... It's like a lottery win for me and the club". 

DAY TWO

Following on from the launch of of schools competition to win a visit from the EURO 2020 Trophy, the winning school was announced on Clyde 1 on the morning of 1st June, much to the delight of teachers and pupils of Riverside Primary. 

The #EUROTrophyTour has reached Glasgow and @GBXANTHEMS got a visit from it this morning. It's heading to @RiversideGovan with @stevenmill now #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/k3f5dbm4vy

— Clyde 1 (@1025Clyde1) June 1, 2021

Ms Michelle Parker,  Deputy Head Teacher, said "its been so hard trying to keep it under wraps since we found out the other day. Its been such a tough year, and the buzz of Scotland being back in a major tournament has been so so good. The kids have had an absolute ball today and it just means the world to all of us".

Primary 7 pupil, Devin, was full of excitement upon setting eyes on the trophy. 

"Its been amazing! One of the best things I've ever experienced at this school. The first time Scotland have been in a major tournament, and the fact that we get to see the trophy is unbelievable". 

@RiversideGovan what a truly amazing experience this morning with skilzy the mascot and Official Euro 2020 trophy. An amazing team. pic.twitter.com/3ZPvZGWNhy

— Michelle Parker (@MrsPDHT) June 1, 2021

Celebrating the youngest football fans in the city, the trophy then visited a Tiny Tots session. Part of the EUR0 2020 grassroots legacy programme 'Play Your Game', Tiny Tots classes are delivered by Glasgow Sport to kids 18 months - 3 years. Skillzy enjoyed learning a few things from the energetic wee ones, while the official UEFA EURO 2020 Freestylers were on hand to show the next generation of Scottish football stars a few tricks. 

Councillor David McDonald welcomed the Henri Delaunay Cup to the heart of the city, with the UEFA EURO Trophy Tour paying a visit to George Square for some photos. The prestigious City Chambers provided the backdrop for not only the trophy, but also the official Volkswagen vehicle, tournament mascot Skillzy and some of the Host City Volkswagen Mobility Makers. 

After a sunny photostop, the EURO 2020 trophy made its way to Pollok Utd to surprise the club during their mid week session. As a stalwart of the community, supporting their local families during lockdown with food bank provisions, the academy is also a Platinum Scottish FA Legacy Club. Founder of Pollok Utd, Andy Elliot, said

“The place has been absolutely buzzing tonight - everything has went perfectly well. Hopefully there is more enjoyment to come over the next few weeks when the tournament kicks off”. 

More pics from @GlasgowEURO2020 with @SNPdavid pic.twitter.com/PRUWHpUQ27

— Pollok United (@PollokUtdS_A) June 2, 2021

DAY THREE

The afternoon saw Toryglen welcome pupils from St. Brigid's Primary, Kirkriggs Primary and Toryglen Primary to a fun-filled few hours of football in view of the UEFA EURO 2020 Trophy - with Skillzy getting involved in all the action. 

Our P2 class had a brilliant afternoon taking part in football activities at @ToryglenRegFC. They also got the amazing opportunity for a photo with the @EURO2020 trophy as part of #EuroTrophyTour. Massive thanks to @FootballGlasgow @PEPASSGlasgow and @GlasgowEURO2020 ⚽️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 pic.twitter.com/wWFnjtG85S

— St Brigid's Primary, Toryglen (@StBrigidsPS) June 2, 2021

To round off the day, SWNT goalkeeper Lee Alexander inspired the next generation of footballing talent at Drumchapel Utd with a surprise visit to their training session. Lee was on hand for some team photos and was also keen for a kick about! Lee also got involved with some goalkeeping training and was thoroughly impressed with the clubs set up supporting young girls to develop their footballing skills. 

"Its so nice to see the kids out enjoying themselves at training. For me, training was the best night of the week and I looked forward to it all week long. I'll be watching every game of the EUROs and I know myself and all the kids will be cheering Scotland on". 

DAY FOUR

The trophy's last day in Glasgow began with an early morning visit to Hampden Park, where Scotland open their EURO 2020 campaign against the Czechs in just 11 days. Will we see the trophy taking up residence at Hampden at the end of the tournament? 

The final stop for the silverware was the Clyde Arc - more commonly known as the Squinty Bridge. Seen as a universal symbol of connection and unity, the bridge helped to inspire the logo for the UEFA EURO 2020 brand - symbolising bringing the tournament closer to the fans. 

The Official UEFA EURO 2020 Freestylers and mascot Skillzy were also on hand to wave the trophy on its way, as it makes one final stop in London before the tournament kicks off. 

For more information regarding the official UEFA EURO 2020 Trophy Tour, check out #EUROTrophyTour on social media or click here.