The athletes from Hesse are counting down to the start!

In the period before Euro 2024– The third largest sporting event in the world – We’ll talk to football-passionate Special Olympics athletes from all over Germany who are… Volunteering In the tournament. Arthur Bonnke and Michael Meijerlein from Special Olympics Hessen are among the volunteers in Frankfurt.

Arthur and Michael were each paired with a partner as part of the Tandem Initiative. Arthur’s tandem partner is his brother Karl. Arthur and Karl will be checking tickets at the Frankfurt Stadium where they hope to enjoy some football matches after their work! “I think I will watch some matches. “The team I would like to see the most is Germany,” says Arthur, a 19-year-old Special Olympics Hesse swimmer. He is delighted that such a high-level football spectacle has arrived at his door. He adds: “The great thing is that it is taking place in Frankfurt!” He is backing Germany to win but is also looking forward to seeing the other teams play.

Michael, 28, will also check tickets at the Frankfurt Arena. Michael usually works as a machine operator in Marburg, but he wouldn’t mind taking a few days off for this experience. He’s already feeling excited, “I’d like to see all five matches in Frankfurt and hope Germany wins!” Although Michael doesn’t compete in soccer with Special Olympics — he’s been playing basketball for 13 years and has been an assistant coach for five — he’s certainly caught the Euro 2024 bug!

EURO 2024 GmbH said that the inspiration for the tandem volunteer initiative in which Arthur and Michael are involved came during Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023. Host City Programwhich welcomed athletes at 200 sites across Germany, was the largest community inclusion project in German history, and motivated the organizers of Euro 2024 to follow this example of inclusivity.