The Polish team has once again won the Euroasmus and Friends CUP 2025 tournament, held for the 12th time on Thursday, 9 October, at the POSiR Rataje Centre (os. Piastowskie 106A). The International Football Tournament, inaugurated in 2012, was attended by nearly 80 participants representing 8 teams: Palestine, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Canada, Tajikistan, Italy, Poland and England.
It is worth noting that although there were 8 teams, the players came from a total of 15 countries, as some of them also included representatives of other nationalities (according to the rules, at least 4 players had to be citizens of the country. Only 1 team could represent a specific country. As usual, the motto was ‘We play together, we cheer together, we celebrate together!’
A total of 16 matches were played during the day, initially in two groups. Then, the four best teams advanced to the semi-finals, to finally compete in the matches for third place and in the grand final. The final featured teams from Poland and Palestine. After a 2 x 8-minute match and 2 goals scored, the white and red teams finally lifted the cup for the best team, winning 2:1.
In a tightly contested match for third place between Egypt and Canada, Egypt ultimately scored one goal more, winning 1–0. The tournament's best goalkeeper was a player from Egypt, while the best player was a representative of Palestine.
I have had the privilege of participating in the tournament since 2014, while I was a student at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. Since then, I have played for Georgia and Ukraine, and this year I was a guest player for Tajikistan. The tournament is well known in Poznań, and many students are eager to participate. In my opinion, something that connects people and students around the world is sport, and here we are all united by our love of football. This tradition, interest and continuation of the Euroasmus and Friends Cup is proof that it is an essential cultural and sporting element of the city of Poznań, creating an international environment that brings together people from different cultures, traditions, languages, values and religions – Maged from Yemen.
The EUROASMUS AND FRIENDS CUP has been extremely popular among the foreign academic community for years. Organised for the first time in 2012, on the occasion of the European Championships held in Poznań, the competition continues to attract many eager participants and proves that the legacy of UEFA Euro 2012 is still alive. The tournament also serves another purpose: it brings together students from all over the world who are studying
in Poznań and promotes the city worldwide through extensive photo reports on social media.
Organiser: Wielkopolska Pracownia Pomysłów
Partners and sponsors: City of Poznań, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Poznań University of Physical Education, Poznań University of Technology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, KKS Lech Poznań, Cuba Libre Social Club, Drukarnia Drukma
Source & Photo: Maciej Młodzik