Today, 400 football players with and without disabilities from eight nations, women, men, children, youth and adults, entered the Gründenmoos stadium together to open the 11th INTERNATIONAL HELVETIA CUP - Football for Inclusion 2022. They are all different, but they all share the same passion. They are all united by their love of football.
Following the opening ceremony, the first matches were kicked off: the U17 tournament was opened by FC. St Gallen and FC Lugano. The tournament for people with disabilities, the Special European Cup, started with a match between Benfica Lisbon and FC Chelsea. The FF15 girls' team played against Team Liechtenstein and in the youngest category, the youth teams of FC St. Gallen and FC Will competed for a first victory.
The first day of the tournament ended with a dinner for all players at the Gründenmoos stadium. Moments of exchange are just as important as the games themselves because this inclusive event is about more than sport. The participating athletes with and without disabilities should experience inclusion on and off the pitch for a week, to be able to carry these experiences from the football pitch into everyday life.